Category Archives: Update of the Avatar

Update of the Avatar #195 – 2016.09.23: The Passing of Lacey, More Estgard Polish, Hometown Returns, Spotlight: Bastion’s Point

September 23, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

The Passing of Lacey

By now, many of you may have heard that one of our community members Lacey has passed after fighting a long, brave battle against breast cancer. Lacey was an incredible contributor to our community and was well known for her amazing decorating. We all benefited from her tremendous skills which she shared with us in projects like Hometown and the setup for the Devs vs. Players PVP match for the Spring Telethon.

You can see in this screenshot from the PVP match that Daxxe Diggler shared just how many people she impacted:

Update of the Avatar #194 – 2016.09.16: Estgard Polish, Lord British Attending SotA Con, Halloween Content, Austin Game Conference, R33 Postmortem Recap, and More!

September 16, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Estgard Polish

Estgard is on the island of Norgard and is part of the Path of Courage. It is a cloned scene using one of our PRT / POT templates based off of the Forest 01 base template (aka PaxLair). In Release 33, we did an initial rebuild (aka “un-cloning”) of that scene where we added a plot specific perimeter wall and a handful of other visual changes to have it more closely match the Viking like style of the island of Norgard. In Release 34, we are polishing that rebuild to bring it up to our visual standards. When we start focusing on the Courage Path in a future release, it will also get an NPC polish pass. In Update 192, SorcerousSteve gave you a preview of these changes and this week he is giving you another update on the upcoming improvements. WARNING: Plot spoilers below.

Note that when we un-clone these scenes we do NOT change lot placements. We only make cosmetic changes of building styles, terrain, and foliage.

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

REVISITING ESTGARD

Hey guys, SorcerousSteve here to give you an update on Estgard! A few weeks ago we got to see a preview on the upcoming Estgard, we’ll continue that this week with a look inside the city walls. Estgard is a densely overgrown town located in Southeast Norgard along the Naryad Channel, it is a densely overgrown area constantly ravished by Kobold attacks.

The ongoing war between humans and Kobolds in this area has put people on the edge, so much that they believe that yellow will ward off the Kobolds and protect them.

Update of the Avatar #193 – 2016.09.09: Tropical Island POT, Economy Balancing, Testing Incentives Program, Sales Policy Update, and More!

September 9, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Tropical Island POT Polish

When we launched the Tropical Island Player Owned Town Template in Release 30 back in May, we were moving quickly to get it launched and in the hands of our POT owners. It was based on the Island 01 template and was a simple swap of tree type mostly without really any other major changes. Owners who chose this template were understandably underwhelmed by this variation so we decided that we needed to take another pass at this Island.

Hutch has been working this Release to improve the island and has made a host of improvements. He started by choosing a few different base terrain textures, ones that lend themselves better to a tropical environment. He then chose some additional terrain grasses and ran a process to apply them to the map in order to cover areas that were bare of grass before. He also added some more tree varieties to the map to improve variety and height differences and spread these more thoroughly throughout the map. The biggest changes, however, are an overall increase in foliage density throughout the island to create a more tropical jungle look and the addition of flat beach areas suitable for house placement.

Update of the Avatar #191 – 2016.08.26: Play Release 33 Now!, Summer Telethon Results, $10M Backer Gift, Lot Deed Raffle, Swamp Island POT, and More!

August 26, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Play Release 33 Now!

Release 33 successfully launched yesterday, August 25, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in and checking out the new changes! There’s lots of new content to explore, including:

New uncloned scenes including Port Graff and Estgard
New User Experience Polish, including a reworked Bloodriver
New NPC Behaviors and Polish in Ardoris and Spite
More Random Encounters (dragon!)
Lot Deed Raffle
Portable Aether Vibration Amplifier World Starting Gift
Lots of new emotes
Summer Telethon Part 1 Rewards

…and much more

Update of the Avatar #190 – 2016.08.19: Final 3 Days for 15% Bonus & All Pledge Expirations!, Monday Telethon, NPC Submissions, Land Rush Update, and More!

August 19, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Final 3 Days for 15% Bonus & All Pledge Expirations!

As we march toward the conclusion of the Great Land Rush, we are preparing for Part 2 of our Summer 2016 Expiration Event and the end of the 15% Summer Bonus Promotion!

Summer 2016 Expiration Event, Part 2

At Midnight CDT on August 22 (5:00 UTC August 23), 2016, we are expiring ALL remaining pledges, including: Adventurer, Founder, Royal Artisan, Explorer, Ancestor, Edelmann, Knight Marshal, Lord Marshal, Duke, and Lord of the Manor 2. To commemorate the final expiration of all remaining pledges, we are holding a 12-hour Summer Telethon Part 2, starting at 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC) and running right up to the Final Pledge Expirations at Midnight CDT August 22 (5:00 UTC August 23).

Get Your 15% Summer Bonus!

If you were thinking of purchasing (or upgrading) a pledge or Player Owned Town before they expire, then now’s a great time to do it! For all new purchases (including pledges, pledge upgrades, add-on items, player owned towns and upgrades, Make a Difference items, and service vouchers) between 12:00 am CDT June 24, 2016 and Midnight CDT August 22 (5:00 UTC August 23) , 2016, we’ll add an additional 15% bonus to your Store Credit!

BETTER HURRY, ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT! Read more…

Update of the Avatar #189 – 2016.08.12: Port Graff Revisited, Summer Telethon Part 2, Land Rush Update, Password Change Request, Static POT Policy, Community Trailer Contest, and More!

August 12, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Port Graff Revisited

Port Graff is a cloned scene based on Kingsport. It is getting rebuilt this release and will go live with Release 33. Note that when we un-clone these scenes we do NOT change lot placements. We only make cosmetic changes of building styles, terrain, and foliage. In the case of Port Graff, it is getting a plot specific additions related to the gem trade between the Graff Gem Mines and Graff Island along with a host of other visual changes.

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

Hey guys, Sorcerous Steve here to give you a sneak peak at the uncloning process for Port Graff!

Port Graff started out as a Kingsport Clone and has undergone major renovations for its R33 release.

Port Graff is located on the western coast of Drachvald and serves as a docking point for the valuable gems coming from the Graff Gem Mines. The gems make their way to Port Graff via cart and are placed on boats for their transport to Graff Island where they are sculpted and added to weaponry and jewelry.

Carts filled with gems enter the Port Graff checkpoint. Port Graff is a mining port town heavy on trade with an abundance of guards protecting valuable shipments of gems.

Update of the Avatar #188 – 2016.08.05: Estgard Remake, Land Rush Update, Community Trailer Contest, Star Citizen Cross-Promo, and More!

August 5, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Estgard Remake

Estgard is another cloned scene using one of our PRT / POT templates based off of the Forest 01 base template (aka PaxLair). It is getting rebuilt this release and will go live with Release 33. Note that when we un-clone these scenes we do NOT change lot placements. We only make cosmetic changes of building styles, terrain, and foliage. In the case of Estgard, it is getting a plot specific perimeter wall added along with a host of other visual changes. Estgard is on the island of Norgard and is part of the Path of Courage.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Richard “RrMatey” Matey]

With Estgard, my goal was to tie it closer to the aesthetics of Valhold.

Take a gander

Update of the Avatar #187 – 2016.07.29: World Start – Play Release 32 Now!, World Starting Backer Gift, Telethon Results, and More!

July 29, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

World Start – Play Release 32 Now!

Release 32 successfully launched yesterday, July 28, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in for the Final Wipe and Lot Selection! Lords of the Manor are still claiming today and Dukes will begin claiming this weekend.

Besides Lot Selection, there’s lots of new content to explore, including:

New scenes including Brittany Estates, Spite and Xenos
New User Experience Polish including a reworked Isle of Storms
In-Game purchasable Player Vendors
Over 40 New Crafting Recipes
New NPC Behaviors including Theft Detection and Virtue Reactions
Economic and Combat Balance Adjustments

…and much more

Check out the Release 32 Instructions update for detailed information about all the new content.

Update of the Avatar #186 – 2016.07.22: Xenos Reborn, More Brittany Housing, Renovating Spite, SotA Makes 2016 RPG List, New Bundle Store, and More!

July 22, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Xenos Reborn

Xenos (like Spite) started as another cloned scene using one of our PRT / POT templates based off of the Forest 01 base template (aka PaxLair). It is getting a complete rebuild from scratch this release and will go live with Release 32. Note that scenes that we un-clone after the Final Wipe will NOT get this level of rework, and building placements and lot placements in those towns will remain unchanged; only cosmetic changes of building styles, terrain, and foliage will be made.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Richard “RrMatey” Matey]

Hi guys,

Wanted to give you guys a quick update on Xenos. This area is important because this is where you need to hitch a ride to Artifice. But to get on board, you need to win the lottery first. So good luck!

Update of the Avatar #185 – 2016.07.15: Summer Telethon, Massively’s Perfect 10 List, Re-Making Spite, Lot Selection Groups, and More!

July 15, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Massively OP Picks Shroud as “Most Exciting Developments”

In an article posted yesterday entitled “Perfect Ten: The Most Exciting MMO Developments Yet To Come in 2016”, Justin Olivetti over at Massively Overpowered picked Shroud of the Avatar’s Release 32 as the second most Exciting Developments of 2016! Only World of Warcraft’s Legion expansion managed to edge us out of the #1 spot!

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

2. Shroud of the Avatar’s persistent state

No, Shroud of the Avatar is not launching (yet it kind of is). When Release 32 arrives at the end of July, the game will perform its final wipe before going into a persistent state. Call it a persistent alpha, a soft launch, or what have you, but the fact of the matter is that adventurers will be able to start playing for keeps as the world continues to be built around them.