Category Archives: Update of the Avatar

Avatar’s Update #287: Episode 2 Stretch Goals, Rewards Program, R55 Livestream Results

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

News Announcements

Community Updates

 

Episode 2 Stretch-Goal Store

As revealed in the Release 55 Livestream we have launched the Stretch Goal store for Episode 2! These are stretch goals with rewards that can be used in the game now (or at least very soon)! When you purchase the item you will get it as an in-game reward immediately (or very soon if the item is still in progress), even if the stretch-goal is not met. These rewards are completely unique. They will not be sold in the add-on store, in-game nor as a bundle item. Once the stretch-goal is met we will begin work on the functionality for Episode 2 and all the items purchased would gain some function related to the goal when Episode 2 launches. For instance the foal from the Mounts stretch goal would grow into a horse that you could then ride. Each goal will have a progress bar underneath tracking the progress. General philosophy is that these items cost slightly more than equivalent items because they are linked to stretch goals. Read more…


Avatar’s Update #286: Play Release 55 Now!

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates


Play Release 55 Now!

Release 55 successfully launched yesterday, June 28, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in to check out the changes! There’s lots of new content to explore, including:

Read more…


Avatar’s Update #285: Obsidian Trials, Atavists of Purity, Double XP Weekends, & R55 on QA

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

The Making of The Obsidian Trials

We are polishing various aspects of our combat and PVP systems in preparation for the upcoming Castle Defense Scenarios feature. This includes making areas of PVP engagement where no ransom items drop, where grouping rules can be controlled (on/off), having death remove you from the scene until the scene restarts, new currencies/merchants/rewards for PVP scenarios, and better overall physical spaces for PVP. To that end we have created a combat area where we can iterate on these systems over the next several releases called The Obsidian Trials. It will be where we implement, test, and polish various systems to improve and enhance our combat and PVP systems so that they can be expanded to support Castle Defense. In Release 55 we have built the space and implemented new death mechanics, blocked grouping, and removed ransoms. In the next few releases we will be adding boundaries that change the size of the play space, win/loss conditions, timer resets, and a new PVP currency that can be spent on rewards like titles, components, consumables, emotes, and patterns.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Travis “Vas Corp Por” Koleski]

Here are some early screenshots of the new Obsidian Trial zone. A subterranean pit of sheer obsidian hosts a deadly, 32-player PVP free for all!

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Avatar’s Update #284: The Making of East Vauban Foothills

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

The Making of East Vauban Foothills

This hilly area is northeast of Vauban pass in the Drachvald region. It was previously a Tier 3 area but is being upgraded to a Tier 5 area for Release 55. The increase in difficulty of this scene is part of a longer term effort where we will be increasing the difficulty of several scenes to better match the surrounding scenes and the character’s progress along the associated story paths that bring you near those scenes. Undead have overrun a village here and Ebon Dawn Cultists are taking advantage of the resulting chaos.

[From a A Dev+ Forum Post by Chris “Sea Wolf” Wolf]

Hey folks! I have a few screenshots to share of my current progress on East Vauban Foothills. In this scene, an Ebon Dawn mage has converted the population of a small village into zombies, and is performing experiments on them to see if their humanity can be restored.

Cavern Scout Camp

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Avatar’s Update #283: Ebon Dawn Cultists and The Making of Norgard Fens

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

Improving the Ebon Dawn Cultists

The Ebon Dawn Cultists are modern Novian worshipers of the historic Obsidian Order. They seek to restore the ancient power of the Obsidians and work with the Obsidian Cabalists and even the Undead. Until now these enemies have been using the same art as bandits. In Release 55 they will be getting their own art based on the Obsidian Order armor we created for the Release 52 Livestream Stretchgoals, albeit these versions are darker in color and more worn in appearance. Additionally in Release 56 you will be able to loot these enemies for this armor and salvage it for patterns.

Ebon Dawn Fighter

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Avatar’s Update #282: Play Release 54 Now!

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

Play Release 54 Now!

Release 54 successfully launched yesterday, May 31, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in to check out the changes! There’s lots of new content to explore, including:

  • Performance Improvements
  • Scene Rebuilds: Westend (town), Shaminian Hills, Upper Tears
  • Skeleton Plunderers
  • More Side Quests: Companion Gear, Soltown Sewers, Solania Catacombs
  • Combat Polish & New Weapons Audio
  • More Heraldry Items: Chest, Standing Banner, Gloves, Boots, Basement Hatch
  • More Adventure Scene Blessings
  • User Interface Polish: Containers in Containers, Containers in Mail
  • Companion AI Polish
  • New Recipes: Hot Tub, Bathtubs, Elven Lights, Crate, Barrel, Standing Banner
  • Increased Decoration Limits
  • New Homes & Basements: Shopfront Row Homes, Basement Inns, Basement Hatches
  • New Decorations: Globe Container, Large Telescope, Hourglasses, Perennial Coast Paintings
  • R52 Livestream Obsidian Order Items
  • R54 QA Testing Incentive Winners
  • R54 Lot Deed Raffle Winners

…and much more!

Read more…


Avatar’s Update #281: Release 54 Next Week, and Zombie Children in Release 55!

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

Zombie Children

When the undead rise the young will rise along with the old. While they might not have the reach of an adult zombie they make up for it in stealthiness and in making you hesitate before you strike, a hesitation that might cost you your life. Zombie Children will begin appearing in select locations in Release 55.

Read more…


Avatar’s Update #280: Female Peasant Wearables

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

Female Peasant Wearables

In Release 50 we replaced all the art for our female peasants to upgrade the visuals and in Release 53 we did another iteration on their faces for further improvements. For Release 55 we are making wearable versions of the Female Peasant clothing that will be available in-game as either recipes or patterns. There will be eight dresses, two hats, and three shoes. All of the cloth items will be dye-able.

Plaid Shawl Peasant Dress

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Avatar’s Update #279: New Creatures! Skeleton Plunderers and Unicorns

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

New Creatures: Skeleton Plunderers and Unicorns

New creatures will soon be appearing in Novia, some more rare than others!

Skeleton Plunderers are Undead Plunderers who are cursed to wander the land forever seeking treasure. Kevin “UglyFist” Wells built these latest additions to our Undead army by meshing our Plunderers (who Fletcher “Scathana” Kinnear built in R53) with our Skeleton Mages, Warriors, and Archers. Skeleton Plunderers should appear in R54 in areas like Blood Bay and Penmawr Island.

Plunderer Skeleton Warriors: 

Read more…


Avatar’s Update #278: The Making of Westend

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

The Making of Westend

The town of Westend is located in the Verdantis region on the western coast of Novia. The combination of Norgard architecture and wetlands creates a unique visual element to the town not seen anywhere else in Novia. Westend is the port that serves adventurers traveling to Verdantis Shardfall and while the town remains small it has grown prosperous from trade because of the resources brought back by those lucky enough to survive the Shardfall. Of course many say those resources came off the bodies of dead adventures…

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldivar]

Hey guys SorcerousSteve here to give you a sneak peek at the uncloning of Westend!

Westend is located on the western end of Verdantis in close proximity to the Verdantis Shardfall. Alongside this it is in close proximity to Norgard, so for this particular uncloning we decided to bring in our Viking style architecture and improve the theme of the area as a coastal swamp biome.

The NPC center and cluster of shops in the heart of town have now received a major makeover with multi-level platforms that rise above the swamp alongside the addition of bringing in viking themed architecture, furniture and additional propping.

Read more…