Avatar’s Update #277: Play Release 53 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 53 Now!

Release 53 successfully launched yesterday, April 26, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in to check out the changes! There’s lots of new content to explore, including:

…and much more!

Check out the Release 53 Instructions update for detailed information about all the new content.

We need all your help with testing the new patches, putting more stress on our multiplayer servers, and testing the new game content, so please join us in playing this Release!

If you have not backed the game yet, go to www.shroudoftheavatar.com and click the “Play Now” button. Game Early Access is also available on Steam.

Release 53 Player Instructions

Release 53 Known Issues

Here are what some players are saying about the release so far:

Dereck Visaard: I just finished reading the final R53 release instructions post…WOW. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – you and your team rock!! I’m consistently amazed by how much you manage to pack into a single release.

Steevodeevo: An incredible effort, and still more to come. The game has become exponentially better in the last half dozen releases or so, to the point that it is now a very good game by any comparative standards.

Innascual Inch: I’m very impressed by the amount of work you’ve managed to get done for this release. Some very big changes and exciting new toys for all types of players… THANK YOU!

St Drahcir: Love the new updates and all the new stuff you guys keep putting in. Keep it up :)!!

Lord Stein: All I can say is “WOW” Maybe the most chock full of goodies release yet.

Vulgaren: Another awesome release! Glad to see those toadstools made it in to the game, thank you for that, as well as all your other hard work!

Pounce: oh boy, thats a long long long long long list! I hope no developer suffered permanent harm with that workload.

Daigoji Gai: You know? It seems like over the past 8 releases, the lists have been getting longer and longer. Amazing. Wondering if we should have a local “comfort puppy” company send the devs comfort puppies to cuddle until the next release in, oh, another 30 days?

R52 Livestream Obsidian Items

We have started production on the Release 52 Obsidian items! This week we unveiled the Obsidian Plate armor, based on an original concept done by Stephen “Caravaggio’s Wolf” Daniele.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Starr “Darkstarr”]

As you might remember the Monthly Livestream for Release 52 was Obsidian themed in honor of the new Quel Shardfall. As we wrapped work on Release 53 tasks we started working on the the Obsidian stretch goal items with the Obsidian symbol on them. 

Obsidian Plate Armor: Fletcher “Scathana” Kinnear built this incredibly intimidating armor based on a concept sketch originally created by Stephen “Caravaggio’s Wolf” Danielle. 

Double XP for Week 1 & 2 of Release 53!

[From a Forum Post by Starr “Darkstarr”]

Thanks to the incredible turnout we had for the Stress Test on there will be Double XP (Adventuring & Quests) for Week 1 & 2 (extended from an original plan of 1 week) of R53!

We had to increase our server license on the QA server there were so many people! 330+ at one point in three separate instances! We also finally found and fixed the AOE issue that has been troubling everyone for so long (ex. casting Elysian Illumination in crowded scenes slowing framerate).

R53 Livestream – May 4, 2018 (Spring Themed!)

Another release livestream is upon us! The Release 53 Livestream is set for next week May 4, right after Release 53 goes live on April 26 this week.

All Avatars from around the world are welcomed to join us in the livestream activities. We will be doing deep dives, answering questions, having sales, handing out prizes, and tracking towards stretch goals. In honor of spring time here in the north, this event’s stretch goals are entirely spring themed!

LIVESTREAM SCHEDULE (Central Time Zone)

Monthly livestreams are on Twitch and include answers to your gameplay questions, world building tours, prize giveaways, sales on items, and more! Here is the schedule:

  • 3PM: Introductions and Q&A
  • 3:45PM: Deep Dive 1: Combat & Crafting
  • 4:30PM: World Building Tour: New Scenes
  • 5:30PM: Deep Dive 2: Physical Goods
  • 6:15PM: Q&A Continues
  • 7PM: Ending Announcements

EXPIRING ITEMS: Store Credits convert to COTOs on May 7!

STRETCH GOALS (Spring Themed!)

As a special bonus, we are offering funding rewards to any player that makes a minimum purchase of $5 during a twelve hour window during the day of the livestream, on May 4 from 12:00 PM to 11:59 PM CT (Spending Store Credit to make $5 minimum purchase does not apply) .

NOTE: While the livestream ends at 7pm CT, everyone will have until 11:59 PM CT to spend $5 to get the stretch goals. We will announce the final total on the following day.

  • $10K: /rainbow
  • $25K: Leaf Backpack
  • $35K: Flower Still Life Painting Set
  • $50K: Floral Print / Style Dress
  • $65K: Dark Thorn Weapons: Bow & 1h Sword
  • $80K: Dark Thorn Weapons: Mace, Wand, Staff

*Please keep in mind that stretch goal rewards take time to develop and will most likely not be available until Release 54 at the earliest. We will keep you updated!

CHEER ON THE DEVS

StarrDancingFor every $2,500 contributed, all devs on camera have to dance, sing, or perform some other act of amazement.

Additionally, we will be having flash sales during the livestream randomly chosen by the devs using our fancy spin wheel from 12 different categories! Each time a category comes up it will go on sale at approx. 20% off for 1 hour.

FLASH SALES CATEGORIES

WIN THESE GREAT PRIZES!

  • In-game items!
  • Bank Upgrades
  • COTOs
  • RelicsbyRild.com merchandise
  • and a bunch of items we will announce on the livestream!

We will be giving prizes away on an hourly basis with many being given away multiple times. If you wish to win prizes during the event, be in Discord chat! We will be active on Twitch and YouTube chats as well, but they will not be our portal for prize giveaways.

[Submit Your Questions Here!]

Crown Items Added to Add On Store

[From a Forum Post by Starr “Darkstarr”]

Greetings Avatars,

Prior to Release 53 there were items that were only available on Crown Merchants. These items were not available on our Add On Store. In Release 53 we have added many of those items to the Add On Store (while leaving them on the Crown Merchants as well). We have done this to provide options to players on how they wish to acquire these items (crowns or currency).

The added items include:

  • Concept Art Paintings
  • Denis Loubet Portrait Paintings
  • Concept Art Tapestries
  • Concept Art Rugs
  • Elven Globe Homes
  • Elven Tent
  • Rectangular Tombstone

Store Credits Exchange to Gold Crowns: May 7th

[From a Forum Post by Starr “Darkstarr”]

When we first began our Crowdfunding campaign we created Store Credits to help facilitate the ability for players to purchase and store funds for future spending. As we have moved out of the Crowdfunding and Early Access phase and into commercial sales we have to review and revise several of our monetary policies. One of those that went into effect recently was was our legal obligation to charge taxes for specific territories. Another one of these is Store Credits which are not compatible with international banking laws for specific territories.

Our goal is to provide high quality, fair, and whenever possible, consistent service to all our global customers. Therefore we have made the decision to phase out Store Credits worldwide, rather then just removing them in some territories, while keeping them in other territories (like the US).

We do not want anyone to lose any value in this process so we are going to do an equal value exchange of all Store Credits and Store Credit Coupons worldwide to Gold Crowns on Monday May 7 at 11:00 AM CDT US. Whatever the amount of store credits you have as of that time and date you will get the best and closest exchange rate. For example if you have $100 in store credit you will receive 115 crowns.

This will affect all Portalarium, Travian, and Black Sun customers.

Note that we are investigating the possibility of adding the ability to spend Gold Crowns on the website but in the meantime you can spend them in game at any of our many Gold Crown Merchants. Additionally we are going to be adding Bundles to the in-game Crown Merchants in the next couple of releases (albeit without the ability to upgrade).

R53 QA Testing Incentive, QA Stress Test, and Lot Deed Winners

QA Testing Incentive Winners: Thank you to everyone who joined us during the latest round of QA Server testing for Release 53! We are incredibly thankful for the community’s contribution in helping our team test new content and make sure every Release launches as smoothly as possible.

The following winners have been randomly drawn and prizes delivered to their game accounts! Prize pool includes gold crowns, ant farm, antennae, bug cloak, and set of bug paintings.

Thank you EVERYONE, again, for contributing to another fantastic release! Want to participate for a chance to win prizes in the next release? Here’s how!

  • @Tad Murakami – Antennae Hat
  • @Weins201 – Antennae Hat
  • @Fruck – Antennae Hat
  • @Rosemourne – Antennae Hat
  • @Boof – Ant Cloak
  • @Rochelle – Ant Cloak
  • @Ajumma – Ant Cloak
  • @hroth – Ant Cloak
  • @Rada Torment – Insect Painting Set
  • @Lao Tzu – Insect Painting Set
  • @devilcult – Insect Painting Set
  • @Grape-Ape – Insect Painting Set
  • @Senash Kasigal – 5 Gold Crowns Testing Reward
  • @Silvanus – 5 Gold Crowns Testing Reward
  • @Aartemis – 5 Gold Crowns Testing Reward
  • @Draugur – 5 Gold Crowns Testing Reward
  • @Viola Vidason – Ant Farm
  • @Leostorm – Ant Farm
  • @Angel Moon – Ant Farm
  • @BishopFaulken – Ant Farm

QA Stress Test Winners: Additionally we had the QA Stress Test in which we awarded rare testing incentives and dev crafted items to the following winners.

  • Alpha Fishstick: Atos Crafted Item
  • Ash-Housewares: Bugsprayer w/ Emote
  • Cownivore: Butterfly chair
  • majoria70: Corpion Chair
  • sethry: Ants Cloak
  • Silberfarn: Insect Leg Table
  • taualtari: Ants Cloak
  • Tirello: Ants Cloak
  • Verit: Bugsprayer  w/ Emote
  • WindSilvermoon: Darkstarr Crafted Item

Lot Deed Raffle Winners: The Lot Deed Raffle has returned and deeds were awarded to the following lucky winners! Raffle tickets grant the holder a chance to win deeds of any size (Row, Village, Town, or City). Raffles are held monthly (total deed numbers may vary each month). Winners can claim their deed(s) simply by logging into the game and claiming rewards at any bank.

Anywhere Winners Player Owned Town Winners

NPC Submission Requests: Central Brittany

Earlier this week Scott “Lum” Jennings posted our latest request for NPC submissions for Central Brittany. This is for Developer+ level backers who are eligible for the “Design an NPC” reward “Help create and name a character in the game”.

For reference here is our current status on which towns we have done this work on and which towns remain to be done:

Done:

  • Aerie
  • Ardoris
  • Braemar (no backer NPCs)
  • Brittany Wharfs
  • Desolis
  • Estgard
  • Etceter
  • Graff Island
  • Jaanaford
  • Kiln
  • Kingsport (no backer NPCs)
  • Northwood
  • Owl’s Head (no backer NPCs)
  • Resolute
  • Solania (no backer NPCs)
  • Soltown (no backer NPCs)
  • Spite
  • Xenos
  • Yew

In progress:

  • Central Brittany

To be done:

  • Bramble
  • Brittany Fields
  • Broochash
  • Brookside
  • Celestis
  • Eastmarch
  • Elad’s Lighthouse
  • Fortus End
  • Goti
  • Mud
  • Noreach
  • Point West
  • Port Graff
  • Storm’s Reach
  • Westend

Humility[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Scott “Lum” Jennings]

Thank you for your continuing support of Shroud of the Avatar! This month, we’re seeking entries for what many of you have been waiting for – the very center of Novia, and home to Lady Arabella and the Oracle, the central district of the jewel of New Britannia, Brittany!

Because of Brittany’s size, this will be the only area we are adding backer NPCs to for this release. If you do NOT want your backer NPC to be in central Brittany for whatever reason, or if you absolutely have a character who should be in a given city not named Brittany, you should wait until we advertise for that city. We do plan on eventually populating every city in the game with unique NPCs!

First, some brief notes:

  • Brittany has many NPCs which are not currently unique. Thus, the NPCs are already in the game, but we can change appearance (to a degree, as seen below), gender, etc. to suit your request. If you want to pick a specific NPC (for example, one near your own house) we will do our best to accommodate you but may not be able to.
  • NPC visual customization, as you may have noticed, is still at a very early stage in development. Right now for the backers who want to be added to Brittany, we cannot offer any visual customization options beyond our standard gallery of NPC models. (Do note, however, that we frequently add to that gallery – the pool has doubled over the past 6 months, for example.) If you would like to have input over the visual customization of your NPC, you can wait for further releases when we can offer this. We will also allow a one-time visual re-customization once customization has been added if you would like to add your NPC now.
  • There are MANY NPCs within Brittany’s walls. Although we will be accepting submissions on a first come first serve basis, if you are a Developer+-tier backer (as in, you can see this post), you are welcome to submit an NPC of your own design, but people who have not yet submitted an NPC will take priority over those who have. If your NPC doesn’t appear in central Brittany, feel free to respond again in future posts. We still have quite a few towns and cities to populate!
  • When responding, please list a first and second choice for profession.
  • Due to the great number of NPCs to populate this release, the amount of custom dialog we can add will by necessity be limited. If you would like specific custom dialog added for your NPC, it would help us GREATLY if you could submit in the form of [keyword that triggers a response] [the response desired] so that we have a better idea of how you would like that NPC implemented. We reserve the right to edit or change any dialog submitted, or not use it if we feel it inappropriate for the NPC or the game in general.
  • Things that will cause Lum to send you a regretful message saying we can’t use your NPC’s background: if your NPC has a backstory that contradicts the lore of the game (“my grandfather helped Aren Bennis win the Obsidian Wars”), thinly-disguised advertisements for your player-owned town or guild, references to races or major events that do not appear in-game (“my mother was an orc”), or a name that is an obvious reference to a real person, popular fictional character, or historical figure.
  • This is currently for the central district of Brittany ONLY. We will be opening all of Brittany for NPC placement in stages. (There are MANY NPCs in Greater Brittany!)
  • As central Brittany is so large, if you would like to note which district the NPC is in, that would be a fantastic help to us! (Note that obviously if all the NPCs in that district/street are taken, we’ll let you know. Also, not all NPCs listed appear in all districts. Please ensure a given NPC is in a district chosen if you choose one to avoid your selection being turned down.) The districts of Brittany are: South (near the Alleys, near the Fields), the Docks, Northeast (near the Wharfs, near the Estates) , the Castle, and North (near the Graveyard).
  • NPCs for Brittany should be human only, please.

Still with us? Great! Here’s what we need for central Brittany:

  • 49 48 guards
  • 4 3 nobles
  • 31 citizens/travellers
  • 1 guild registrar
  • 2 1 bankers
  • 2 town criers
  • 2 public vendors
  • 2 combat trainers
  • 1 crafting trainer
  • 2 bakers
  • 1 butcher
  • 3 2 fishermen
  • 1 alchemist
  • 1 magic supplies salesperson
  • 1 cooking supplies salesperson
  • 6 5 farming supplies salespersons
  • 1 textiles salesperson
  • 2 weapons salespersons
  • 1 crafting supplies salesperson
  • 2 housing decorations salespersons
  • 2 1 housing deeds salespersons
  • 1 tavernkeeper

If you’d like to have your namesake be a resident of central Brittany, please respond via private message on this forum to me (Lum) using the following format:

  • NPC name:
  • NPC gender:
  • NPC profession (first choice):
  • NPC profession (second choice):
  • District NPC appears (optional):
  • NPC background (optional): A paragraph on whom your NPC is, how they would respond to nosy outlanders poking about their business, what brings them to Central Brittany (or keeps them there), or anything else you’d like to add. We may or may not use this background, and reserve the right to edit and/or reject any background that does not fit the lore and setting of the game.

Please specify in your submission that this NPC is for Central Brittany.

We will respond if: your NPC is used; if it is rejected for whatever reason (such as an inappropriate name); if a supplied background is inappropriate, or if your NPC missed the cutoff for this release.

Thanks for your support, and the Lady Arabella welcomes you to Brittany!

Portalarium is Hiring: Web Developer

We currently have an opening for a Web Developer for Shroud of the Avatar. Qualifications for the ideal candidate are:

  • Minimum 5 years industry experience
  • *nix experience (OpenBSD or Linux)
  • Web development experience (PHP, web services, JavaScript)
  • Relational database architecture experience (MySql preferred)
  • Server deployment and cluster orchestration (virtual and/or dedicated machines)
  • Server load balancing, traffic prioritization, etc.
  • Extensive experience with server security
  • Strong debugging skills
  • Ability to work in unstructured, non-hierarchical environment
  • BONUS SKILLS (any one or more of these):
    • NoSQL experience
    • Strong C#/C++ skills
    • Windows programming experience
    • ASP.NET
    • Mac development
    • MMO game development experience
    • Minimum of at least 1 shipped game

If you’d like to join the Portalarium Tribe working on the ground-breaking Shroud of the Avatar game, please submit your resume to jobs@portalarium.com. Provide links to your work (if possible), including gameplay, video footage, and document forms (images, maps, and event descriptions).

Weekend Flash Sale: Armor

In R53 low-level humanoids will drop worn armor which can be equipped or salvaged for patterns. To celebrate these new armor types we are putting all armor (including the new heraldry gear), clothing with armor stats, and associated patterns on sale this weekend!

Visit the Main Store to view more items! Also, you’ll want to explore the game in detail for many more craftable items available!

Upcoming Events Calendar

May 4, 2018 – Monthly Livestream: Release 53
May 7, 2018 – Credits to Crowns Conversion
May 31, 2018 – Release 54
June 28, 2018 – Release 55
July 26, 2018 – Release 56
Aug 21 – 25, 2018 – Gamescom
Aug 30, 2018 – Release 57

Visit the official Community Calendar to see the great lineup of activities our amazing community has planned for this weekend! And be sure to check out this month’s Release Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events.

Spotlight: Ordinis Mortis’ Gallery of Fine Art

Welcome to another Community Spotlight feature! These spotlights are dedicated entirely to community content, usually about a player town and presented by a single individual or an entire guild. For this week’s spotlight, we visited Ordinis Mortis’ Gallery of Fine Art.

As told by Amarth Shadowstring:

Located in Ordinis Mortis, a city continuously growing in its splendor and inhabited by the Order of Chivalry, is based a gallery dedicated for the finest art in Shroud of the Avatar. The city itself is quickly becoming a key trading hub with over a hundred vendors and a carefully kept inventory of traders by the town governor, Minerva. One would think that the city would’ve grown colder with a more business feel as it grows; but quite on the contrary, it has amiably maintained its warm and welcoming atmosphere.

[Read More…]

Community Livestreams & Calendar

The first edition of the Community Livestreams Calendar has been released! We had a difficult decision on what platform to go with, ending up choosing the less stylish but more feature-rich Google Calendar platform.

You can sort and filter the entries, including switching views to weekly, monthly, etc., depending on how easy it is for you to get to the livestream times and livestreamers you are looking for.

A reminder that we have a new sidebar livestream feed on the main page at shroudoftheavatar.com!

We also had a great livestream last Friday showing off combat in the game!

Chris “Atos” Spears and his team were on the show to talk more about the combat system and how to get started on your first hunt in the game! They searched across New Britannia for the most dangerous and deadly creatures to show you how to defend yourself.

Be warned, Avatar, as they found creatures not meant to be encountered without the most experienced of travelers ready to fight…

For more livestreams and gameplay videos, be sure to subscribe to www.youtube.com/portalarium!

Bahamut’s Royal Battle – April 28 at 1pm CT

Bahamut's Royal Battle

From Bahamut Arc:

Avatars,
Would you survive locked in a castle in a battle for survival?
Would you withstand against others until the very end?
Would you stay strong, even without gear?
Would you be the last Avatar standing?

We invite you to find out… by participating in our PvP-event: Bahamut’s Royal Battle!

Message Bahamut Arc for more information!

Did You Know: Shroud of the Avatar Features In-game Radio?

Avatars! This is Elgarion from @SotAHelp with a regular “Did You Know?” feature. Expect to see these posted regularly on community channels, and here in the weekly update.

Did you know @ShroudofAvatar features in game radio such as @AvatarsRadio and @WRFB_DB ? Wear your Aether Vibration Amplifier to tune in! Or don Clockwork Armor to tune into the aetheric musicilation waves!

We will be rotating these Did You Knows with Getting Started Videos and other related posts. If you have a tip to share, please send them to Berek!

Recommended Projects to Back – Crowfall

Crowfall is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), a game that is played online in a persistent, shared environment with thousands (and thousands, and thousands…) of other players.

In this ‘Throne War Simulator’, characters are persistent but the campaign worlds are not, thanks to voxel tech which enables fully-destructible settings. A seamless blend of an MMO with a large-scale strategy game, players are immortal champions, traveling between realms to fight in an eternal War of the Gods.

Resources – Players Helping Players

SotA_NewPlayerWelcome_Forum

The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website.

Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community.



3 Comments


    1. HazardHazard

      @Krsytal Mason – I’m not sure about Radio RFB, but for Avatars Radio they like for you to hang out for a few weeks at their channel in Discord via the link below. Perhaps try contacting Brazen Spirituality there at some point. I’d heard her on-air demonstrating/training the system with a few DJ’s sporadically over time:

      discord.me/avatarsradio

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