Update of the Avatar #40 – 09/20/13: Decorating Demo Video, Edelmann Home, Tower Homes, & Unity Scene Jam!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!
We continue our Parade of Homes with this edition of Update of the Avatar, showcasing the Founder Edelmann Village Home, as well as the Tower Village Home and Tower Town Home! We also included a video demonstrating our home decorating system, plus a few other tidbits and goodies!

Decor of the Avatar

For many of us, home decorating is central to our role-playing experience. It affords us the opportunity for self-expression, a display of status, showcasing the spoils of our adventures, or advertising our craft. The home decorating system in SotA continues to evolve both in power and ease of use. Mere words cannot do it justice, so Rick Holtrop choreographed this video demonstrating the latest progress in our home decorating system, narrated by Lord British. Enjoy!

Crowdsourcing the World!

As Starr Long explains in a recent MMORPG.com article, Crowdsourcing the World, we purchase assets from the Unity Asset Store, many of which we can use as is, but some we want to change up a bit. We have made it a policy to offer the modified versions back to the original creators for free which they can re-sell as their own.

The Dragonide by Protofactor is an example of a Unity Store asset that we modified and offered back to Protofactor. Here is an image of the original asset:

And here is the version after Geoff Mellon’s modifications:

Bren Wilson then put his magic on it and created this hammer attack animation:

Founder Edelmann Village Home

Bob Cooksey (environment artist) modified his concept of the Founder Edelmann Village Home based on the results of the community Poll in our Dev+ forums. Here is the revised version, only available to Founders (included as a reward in the Edelmann level pledge). It is a single-story dwelling, comparable in size to the Founder Citizen Village Home:

Here is an interior view:

Here is a side-by-side view of the Shingle-Roof Village Home, Edelmann Village Home, and the Viking Village Home (available in the Add-On Store):

And this overhead view demonstrates how nicely the Edelmann house nestles within a village lot:

We’ll showcase the Benefactor Edelmann Village Home in an future update. It will be similar in scale to the Founder Edelmann Village Home, with variations in layout and external appearance.

NOTE: “Founders” are backers that pledged any amount by May 20, 2013,
and “Benefactors” are backers that pledged after May 20, 2013.

The Two Towers

And for something really different, artists Bob Cooksey and Michael Hutch have crafted The Tower theme, shown here in both the village size and town size:

Here is a view of the entry-level floor of the Tower Town Home, showing the stairs leading up to the second floor, as well as the entrance leading down to the lower level floor (Tower Village Home entry-level floor is slightly smaller and does not include a lower level floor):

Here is a view of the second story room, showing the entrance to the outdoor deck:

And here is a view of the lower floor:

Here is a side-by-side view of the Tower Village Home, Viking Village Home, and the Shingle-Roof Village Home:

And here you can see how the Tower Village Home fits on a village lot:

Get Your Tower Home Now and SAVE 50%!

For a limited time we’re offering a 50% discount on the Tower Homes! The Tower Village is available for $50 (regular $100) and the Tower Town is available for $75 (regular $150)!

Reserve your Tower Home at the Add-On Store!

• You will need a Village, Town, or City Level Property to place the Tower Village home in-game, and a Town or City Level Property to place the Tower Town home in-game.
• Citizen Level pledges and higher will still receive the home included in their rewards if they purchase the Tower Home as an add-on.

48-Hour Unity Scene Jam Starts Today!
Over $10,000 in Prizes

Grand Prize winner receives:
• Shroud of the Avatar Duke Pledge – $5300 value
• Unity Pro License – $1500 value
• Oculus Rift – $300 value
• UnityVS 1.2 License – $249 value
• Alienware Grab Bag (Backpack, mouse, keyboard, headset) – $350 value

Interested? We thought you might be! For all the details, head on over to the 48-Hour Scene Creation Challenge of the Avatar contest page! Better hurry, because the contest starts today, September 20th at 6PM CST (UTC-6)!

Tracy & Laura Hickman’s Sojourner Tales Kickstarter Campaign Reaches Funding Goal!

Congratulations to Tracy & Laura Hickman for reaching their $26,000 Kickstarter funding goal for their awesome board game!

Sojourner Tales is a story based strategy game where players will have to use their wits as they discover and collect the pieces of a mysterious puzzle and try to be the first to complete the epic adventure. And because of the innovative Ebook Story Modules and adaptable design, the tale is different every time you play! So if you love great board games like we do, be sure to check out the Hickman’s Kickstarter page and help them reach their stretch goals before funding closes on Oct 10, 2013.

Ye Olde Add-On Store Specials

In addition to the Tower Village and Tower Town Homes we just included in the Add-On Store, don’t forget about these other great specials that are still available:

Village Lot Property Deeds (25% off)
• Limited Quantity: 157 of 200 left
• Includes Shingle-Roof home (shown were), but at 20 x 30 meters will accommodate the spacious Knight Village Home and Viking Village Home!

 

Viking Village Home (50% off)
• A two-story dwelling, with a single large room downstairs and a wrap-around loft on the second floor!