Greetings Fellow Avatars!
Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:
- Big Week for SotA at E3!
- Knight Marshal Tower Keep
- Royal Artisan Pledge Rewards
- Royal Founder Rewards
- Elves As Playable Race Stretch Goal
- Oracle Cloak
- Village Pavillion
- More Row Houses
- Through the Lunar Rift!
- 10% Pledge Bonus!
- Alienware $20 Pledge Upgrade Coupons
- Upcoming Events
Big Week for SotA at E3!
It was an exciting week at E3, where Richard Garriott, Starr Long, and Finn Staber were demonstrating SotA as a featured game at the Plantronics booth!
We also premiered the new video trailer for Shroud of the Avatar at E3! Narrated by Bill Johnson (voice of The Guardian in Ultima), with the musical track “Ascendance” by Space Bards. Enjoy!
If you’re a fan of Plantronics Gaming Headsets (like we are), then check out their Plantronics Gaming Facebook page, and if you like what you see then give them a “Like”!
Knight Marshal Tower Keep
The glorious Knight Marshal Tower Keep (included in the Knight Marshal pledge tier), shown below sitting on the Knight Marshal’s town lot, is comprised of 3 floors and a roof deck, with 3 great rooms and 12 alcove rooms (and a secret room, too).
Royal Artisan Pledge Rewards
Included in the Royal Artisan Pledge rewards is the Artisan’s Box of Plenty. This unique box will generate a random resource or reagent once per week:
Also included in the Royal Artisan’s rewards is one (1) starter-level, indestructible, artisan’s tool for the skill of your choice, uniquely identifiable as a Benefactor’s tool. Here are all the tools you get to pick from:
Royal Founder Rewards
We’ve completed in-game versions of several more of our uniquely identifiable Royal Founder items (see Starr’s forum post for complete list). “Royal Founders” are backers that have a pledge made prior to May 20, 2013 (see FAQ): Royal Founder items have a white background, differentiating them from the blue background of “Founder” items. The Royal Founder items for this week include:
- Starter Shield (included in the Adventurer Pledge rewards)
- Cloak (included in the Immortal Adventurer Pledge rewards)
- Cloth, Leather, Chain, & Plate Starter Armor (included in the Virtual Collector Pledge rewards)
Elves As Playable Race Stretch Goal
This week we’re adding Elves as a playable race to the Stretch Goal Store. For this stretch goal, players will be able to choose an Elf as a playable race during character creation.
The elven items available for purchase are a cloak, bow, warrior armor, mage robes, archer armor, and elven home. Here are the items we currently have images for:
Oracle Cloak
Although the influence of the Oracle has waxed and waned over the many years of her existence, you can show your devotion by proudly wearing this Oracle Cloak. There is a secret in-game effect that wearing the Oracle Cloak will invoke. Now available in the Add-On Store at 50% off!
Village Pavilion
Just arriving at the Add-On Store is the new Village Pavilion. Perfect for late night hot tub parties, or set up as your own crafting workshop! You may recognize this building as the public crafting pavilion in Owl’s Head.
Get Your Village Pavilion Now for 50% off!
For a limited time we’re offering 50% off this home! Reserve yours (or send as a gift) at the Add-On Store!
More Row Houses
We have some new row houses available in the Add-On Store this week, including a variety of Blue Tile Roof Row houses and a 3-story Wood & Plaster Row house!
Blue Tile Roof Row Houses
Included in our new line of Blue Tile Roof Row homes are the 2-story (4 rooms), 3-story (6 rooms), and 4-story (8 rooms with fourth floor balcony) row houses, available now in the Add-On Store:
Wood & Plaster 3-Story Row House
Next in our line of Wood & Plaster Row homes is this 3-story, 6-room row house, now available in the Add-On Store:
Here are sample interior views from the Blue Tile Roof and Wood & Plaster Row homes:
For a limited time we’re offering 50% off these Row Homes! Reserve yours (or send as a gift) at the Add-On Store!
Through the Lunar Rift!
These tales, told as a weekly series of journal entries written by Gina “FireLotus” Dionne, will feature the people and places of New Britannia and give you a bit of insight, and hopefully some inspiration, when creating your own stories while exploring the lands of Shroud of the Avatar.
The Chaos Outside of Kingsport
When I first arrived in New Britannia, the trade routes were still open. I’ve always been very hands on when it comes to my work, so I of course wanted to see where I was getting my supplies first hand of course. Not that getting the chance to dip my toes in the brand new ocean didn’t play a part in my decision. Ok, a chance to swim in a whole new ocean was actually the main reason I spent several days in a caravan headed for Kingsport, but traveling for business certainly sounds more responsible. And I did happen to make a few contacts that are still proving to be useful. So all in all, it was a good trip. I just didn’t know it would be my last.
Then the trade ships from Brittany stopped, and the future of the quaint little seaside town of Kingsport seemed pretty dire. It’s a shame too, I met some really good people during my short time there. Some pretty entitled people too (that over-inflated guild master could certainly do with a lesson in humility) but mostly good folk that certainly did not deserve the hardship they suddenly found themselves in.
They were holding their own though, at least until all manner of creatures moved their way up and into the wilds outside of Kingsport. It was around the time when rumors of the undead started though, that the local trade routes stopped running. Even though most folks refuse to even acknowledge the possibility of the dead walking among us, it wasn’t that unbelievable for me. After all, I already knew first-hand that powerful magics had once again begun to permeate this realm.
You see, where I’m from, magic is more of an idea than a reality. You can imagine my surprise when I was trying to meditate, trying to ground myself, and suddenly, a tangle of snake-like roots shot up from the ground and wrapped around my legs. That was my first experience with “real” magic. After that, not much surprised me anymore when it came to the powerful forces at play here in the Vale.,,
Read the rest of the story in the forums
Only 21 Days remain to get your 10% Pledge Bonus!
If you were thinking of pledging your support to the development of Shroud of the Avatar, or upgrading your existing pledge, now’s a great time to do it! Thru Lord British’s birthday on July 4, 2014 we’ll add an additional 10% to your pledge! Don’t miss out!
For all new pledges or pledge upgrades that you purchase for yourself, or as a gift, between 12:00 am CST June 5, 2014 and 12:00 am CST July 5, 2014 we will add another 10% to your pledge! (Note: the original date started on June 6 but since we published the new reward information in the public forums on June 5 it was decided to start the pledge bonus promotion a day earlier)
For example, if you love the new Row House included as a bonus reward in the Ancestor tier and purchase the pledge for $275, we will add an additional $28 to your pledge account ($275 times 10% equals $27.50 rounded up to $28; our pledge package doesn’t handle cents so we round up to nearest dollar).
Alienware Sponsors $20 Pledge Upgrade Coupon
Alienware’s powerful gaming rigs are a perfect match for Shroud of the Avatar! To show their support, Alienware is sponsoring $20 SotA Pledge Upgrade Coupons to members of their Alienware Arena community!
These coupons can be used to start a SotA pledge account (for new backers), or to add $20 to an existing pledge account. If, for example, you have a $90 Royal Artisan Pledge, you can use the Alienware coupon to bump you up to a $110 Virtual Collector Pledge.
Pretty sweet deal, right? So, hurry over to the Alienware Arena website and get your $20 Pledge Upgrade Coupon now!
[NOTE: Only one Alienware Pledge Upgrade Coupon can be used per account. Coupon does not apply to Add-On Store items]
This Week In the News
June 11 – Shroud of the Avatar E3 Interview with PC Gamer: Lord British Speaks to his People
June 12 – VentureBeat: Lord British Keeps Fans Updated on Progress of Shroud of the Avatar
Upcoming Events
2014.06.26 – Release 7 Access
2014.07.04 – SotA at RTX
2014.07.24 – Release 8 Access
2014.08.09 – SotA at synDCon
2014.08.21 – Release 9 Access
2014.08.29 – SotA at Dragoncon
2014.09.25 – Release 10 Access
2014.10.23 – Release 11 Access
2014.11.14 – Duke & Lord of the Manor VIP Design Roundtable with Lord British and Portalarium Studio Tour
2014.11.15 – HoBLotH II: Legends of the Hearth
2014.11.20 – Release 12 Access
2014.12.18 – Release 13 Access
Great update as always Dallas love the Knight Marshal Tower Keep, one question though as this shares the same foot print as the Knight’s home will we be able to use this on a village lot or is a town lot mandatory for this home?
Thanks @Deliverence! And yes, the Knight Marshal Tower Keep will fit on a village lot.
Thanks Dallas appreciate the swift response this is really great news, having a spare village lot I know know what home I’ll be placing on it.
I also LUV the Knight Marshal tower; looks great and wondering if it will be seen in R7??
Thx
Great update. Thanks for the continued work.
Anyone else not a big fan of elves being playable?
Ohgr, you’re not alone there. I was so pleased to see originally that SotA was bucking the trend of having elves as a playable race… there are so many games that have them, and I don’t see why every fantasy game seems to think it should. It was one of the things that helped to make SotA unique (along with the one-character limit, which they’ve now also changed their minds about).
I’m disappointed that they chose to take this route but it won’t stop me playing the game, I just won’t play an elf or donate to that stretch goal.
(And I’ll be interested to know how they plan to fit ‘player elves’ into the ‘you are your character’ theory…)
Well its a $300,000.00 stretch goal and if not reached then there won’t be any playable “Elf’s” in game, however it will also mean that those who backed the stretch will still receive those items listed, so they can at least pretend to be an elf :).
Pretty amazing update for Knight Marshal
Thanks Dallas Loving the knight marshal Tower and the fact that it fits on a village lot is awesome!!!
I’ll probably use my extra village lot for something smaller as the duke castle is all ready pretty crazy to fill up so I love the village pavilion, great idea.. On that note will Duke castles be getting Keep basements soon?
And who ever came up with the row houses is a genius they make the game look authentically mid evil but also some San Francisco, London, and NY feel to it adding more of a community feel while allowing a ton more to have a home. Best addition to the game so far.
Love Fridays for these posts, keep up the good work
Oracle Cloak (digital)
1/2 PRICE SALE: Available at 50% off the regular $30 price
Be the first in your neighborhood to get the new Lord British cloak, beautifully adorned with Lord British’s Coat-of-Arms! There is a secret in-game effect that wearing the Oracle Cloak will invoke.
So…. it has Lord British’s coat of arms on it?
Oops! Fixed!
Knight marshal tower, awesome looking. I’m impressed.
The row houses. Also impressed. Considering the foot print they are using, the houses look like they have a nice bit of space in them. Not a bad alternative at all to the larger house lots.
New Weekly Stretch goal. Exactly what I have been waiting for !! Thank you!!
Elves of the community time to rise!!
Love the look of the knight marshal tower (flash backs to the ultima online wizards tower), and the row houses have “rooms” \o/ Even the oracle cloak looks epic!
– very sweet! Thank you Dallas for another great Update!
Might wish to change what the oracle cloak says in the add-on store however ~chuckles~ unless.. ooo Lord British is turning evil, and this explains why “Revenge is a Virtue”? =^.^=
How long before Dame Lori buys a pavilion to put all her hot tubs in…?
Elves ? Playable ?
What about the whole “You’re playing yourself from Earth thrown into New Britannia” bit ?
This is silly.
Most of us are Elves in real life.
You don’t see us on the street because us elves spend most of their time on the internet.
I was hoping that Richard would stay away from the Tolkien characters.
Well, If that’s the case that Lord British is gonna follow the LOTR, then should we see Hobbits and Dwarfs soon? ; P
Well, Richard stated back during the Kickstarter campaign that he wanted to move away from the familiar Tolkien characters. For the most part, he has done just that with the Kolbolds or the Vertas ( and just to please some of the supporters, referred to them as Elves ). I personally have no interest in doing what every other game seems to be doing, however, if the majority of the players want Elves, then they can voice their interest with their wallets
That’s what annoys me about all the races of SotA : Kobold, Elves, Faun, Satyr, whatever…
I mean come on Richard went on record criticizing Ultima Online for bringing elves and other common generic creatures… and he ends up doing the exact same thing with SotA. Of course I feel this is more a direction influence in this case… but I think that’s a pity. When Richard announced his “Ultimate RPG” I was hoping he would go all original, and really tried to create races and creatures uniques to his new world.
So far… it feels incredibly generic.
Pity.
(Note that I don’t have anything per se against “generic” fantasy worlds – I was just hoping for more from LB)
I love the Celtic knot on the new “Elven” cloak. I am not sure why we are tying Celtic designs into elfdom. Please keep other Celtic things away from Elves in general. Let Elves has their own instead of taking the great Celtic things and forcing them upon elves.
I will have to buy the Elf cloak only for the Celtic design.
The cloak is pretty awesome looking,
I’m guessing the Celtic influence stems from Tolken.
The Elf dialect Sindarin is based on Welsh, a Celtic language of Britain.
The physical characteristics of the elves match the Celts as well. Elves are stated as being tall, with fair skin.
I’m Scottish decent. And I’m thrilled to get anything Celtic influenced at all
Elf or human.
You do have a great point there. Having Celtic items is nice!
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-10-richard-garriott-lambastes-2011-ultima-online
“Since I am no longer at the helm of UO, let’s look at where it has gone in my absence,” he wrote. “Elves and ninjas have been added into the game, things I specifically had banned. This is only a small example of why and how Ultima has drifted away from Richard Garriott, but I have not drifted away from Ultima.
“Overused, irrelevant and reused RPG elements are not the essence of my Ultimate RPG. “
The irony. It bites.
@Sergorn – +1
@Sergorn +1
@ Sergorn
LB also clearly states this is NOT intended on being a UO clone, and for the most part Keldrin nailed it on the head with his bit about elves stemming from Germanic & European lore. Elves are inevitable in an RPG, Sure name it something else, but there will be a magic & combat adept race with pointy ears and fair skin
I would not consider it Overused or Irrelevant to New Britannia, I would venture to guess its the most popular race aside from a human,..? Regardless, SOTA is about creating what you want, if you want to play a flying spaghetti monster, go ahead and animate one and do all the hard work and there is a high chance it would be implemented into the game if the community liked it. Personally I am looking forward to a few familiar races, Playable and NPC type. There is nothing worse than a game with races that resemble say an elf or a dwarf, but have different names…. that would to me be Irrelevant and I don’t think we can stop people from wanting what they like.
Richard also stated that he wanted to stay away from the familiar races he used in the previous ultimas.
However, we will see how popular this is based on the amount pledged on the stretch goals.
Hasbro/WotC has a trademarked flying spaghetti monster unfortunately: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=193452
Great update! Lots of eye candy!
I hope the elves strecth goal is never met tho, what an abomination.
No more BotA snippets or map puzzle pieces…my life feels so empty.
Dallas, now that the map has been fully revealed, will we be getting one without all the jigsaw lines on it?
Yes indeed! Thought we’d let the puzzle builders enjoy the fruits of their labor for a week or two before providing the completed map!
cut me out of the promo trailer? how dare thee!?!?!? :p
Wait, what?!? ELVES?!! – I would much rather have UNDEAD as a playable race long before Elves!! What ever happened to “play who you are”? It makes much more sense to weave in the possibility of becoming Undead when transgressing from our world to New Britannia, after all they are both Humans, the difference being one is vitally challenged. But Elves? How does that get worked into the lore?
Undead, Necromancer, Vampires perhaps? Undead There has to be some sort of undead play style whether it be threw skills, or eventually a playable race. remember there are going to be 5 chapters to this game over the next few years,
Is it a bit like The Fly, where something else came through the rift at the same time?
About the only stretch goal I would be really interested in is sail-able boats. Looking
forward to that appearing soon.
I feel like a child in the candy shop Woot Shroud of the Avatar very nice.
.I am going to nag my wife to upgrade too Lord Marshal . Thank you all .I like the new video
Any pics of the Lord Marshall Home yet?
I really hope the round towers at the top of the knight marshall keep are big enough for a hot tub!!
I think the fact that you can buy houses with REAL money is utter BULL……… I liked Ultima Online because everything was earned directly but some of these houses are WAY TOO BIG and makes no sense how you can start in a brand new game with all of it…. This game had me EXTREMELY excited at first when I heard of it but I feel like its being made TOO MUCH for the fans… Me and all my UO friends have lost more and more interest and although we all intend to play when it is released, we aren’t as excited as before…. I tend to not like any game though that allows you to pay real money to excel ahead of other players. I dont mind buying unique stuff that you can only get in online store as long as its a cosmetic thing such as unique looking tabards… unique looking mounts… etc…. but not when it gives you an advantage others don’t have.