Updates

Play Release 132!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 132 goes live November 27th at 10:30 AM CST.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 132 (R132), we offer ways to brighten the darkest part of the year.

For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.

News Announcements

Community Updates

 

Season’s Greetings

We are now in the last quarter of the year and quickly approaching Shroud of the Avatar’s 11th anniversary! In the last months of the year, we primarily dedicate ourselves to working on bugs and internal system updates. This month we have been working in earnest to plan the content and itemization for next year.

We have quite a number of items in the fire, including bug fixes, massive amounts of dungeon work, and our continued efforts to map the game so that we can audit it properly. Portalarium produced a ton of content, features, and skills, but not much was documented. We are working on getting things better organized so that we spend less critical time on recurring things like Monthly and Subscriber Login Rewards.

I want to take this moment to thank the team for being so dedicated and going above and beyond every day. Allium and Laney both have expanded their dev knowledge by leaps and bounds. Over the last few months alone, Allium produced almost all of the items we have been presenting to the community; these and the creation tasks that Laney has taken on are lessening the load for myself and are allowing me to work on 2025 plans, player dungeon content, and the more stubborn bugs.

I also want to thank Keith, Scottie, and Devilcult for their dedication and continued support. This is a passion project for everyone who works on the game. We look forward to big things in 2025!

– Ravalox

 

Livestream Explanation

We have at least one Livestream on our official Twitch channel (https://www.twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar) each month. During our official streams, we offer a number of ‘prizening’ drawings for in-game items and recently it has been asked how that all works. There will be a prize phrase published with the official release notes. This phrase is to be said in game, using any chat channel (including whispers), on the day of the stream. Aside from that, a purchase on the game’s website will also enter your account for a chance at a prize.

The phrase can be entered into game chat at any time on the date of the stream (starting at midnight Central Time), leading all the way up to about five minutes before each drawing. We typically have at least two drawings per stream. Players do not have to enter a second time for the additional drawings.

Prizes are generally delivered quickly, but since our streams are usually held on a Friday, they may not appear in the player’s in-game inbox until sometime during the next week.

Please remember that only phrases spoken in game qualify as entries into the drawing. We do not track the phrases spoken in Twitch chat or Discord.

I was hoping to stream a few more times this month, but the holiday season is too powerful and I found myself short of time. I will endeavor to try to stream a work session or three each month going forward, but that may need to wait until January, since December’s calendar is already filled to capacity (though you never know when I may just fire up OBS!)

– Ravalox

 

Release 132 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 132 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R132 is a polish month. Content, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R133 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 132!

Read more…


Play Release 131!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 131 goes live October 31st at 10:30 AM CDT.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 131 (R131), we offer dark places to brighten or, maybe, to keep dark.

For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.

News Announcements

Community Updates

 

Dungeon Delve

I have started a revamp of the Player Dungeon Kit. Last month, we released a new room and this month we will add seven more! A good number of the existing rooms are named for the adventure scene they were taken from, so as most of the new rooms are basements converted to dungeon rooms, these rooms will have the “Cellar” keyword in their names.

As is our standard, not everything needed to play the game needs to cost money. Of the eight new rooms added in R130 and R131, only three are purchasable through the Crown Store. Recipes and blueprints for some will be obtained in loot and others will be located on in-game-gold merchants. We will continue to develop in this manner going forward.

Two of the new rooms are small pass-through areas or antechambers. These were specifically requested so players could create hallways with niches or vestibules. There are also some significant features to note in these, as well as the other new rooms: hallways stubs are not present for every connection! This will allow players to create a tighter maze of rooms and even create scenarios where the adventurer may not notice moving from one room to another. Players building a dungeon will, of course, need to be mindful of rooms that may clip into other rooms when connecting them. If this happens, then a hallway piece should be placed. I will be looking to create hallway stubs (4 meters long instead of 8 meters or 16 meters) to allow for more flexibility when using these new smaller rooms.

The best is yet to come: we have published a few pieces in this update that contain doors and sub-sections that make the piece into an expanded number of rooms. In the future, I will be looking to add breakaway walls and secret doors et cetera, a popular wishlist item. I will also be converting all of the basements into dungeon rooms including the massive Castle Five-Story Basement!

We are currently working on organizing the inventory of dungeon sets and rooms to determine what pieces are missing and what bugs need to be fixed. This also will allow us to correct any inconsistencies in naming and points.

Scottie has been assisting with making new dungeon components that will allow for more interesting designs. Some of these dungeon kit parts have been used in the new rooms released this month. They allow me to make smaller rooms and to convert other things like basements and adventure dungeons into rooms without rocks poking out all over. My goal is to refine even some of the old rooms that need too much void space.

My intention is to continue to fix and/or add new rooms, leading to a larger release of a new adventure zone dungeon and other goodies! As always, please look for testing directives: these help us test bug fixes on QA as well as test new rooms.

New pieces on Bookseller Merchants:

  • Stone Dungeon Room – Cellar Antechamber [1 Floor] (2×1) – 2 Conn

    • Turn the triangles for more pictures.

  • Stone Dungeon Room – Cellar Antechamber [1 Floor] (3×1) – 2 Conn
    •


  • Stone Dungeon Room – Row Lot Cellar [1 Floor] (2×1) – 1 Conn
    •


  • Stone Dungeon Room – Village Lot Cellar [1 Floor] (2×2) – 1 Conn
    •


New pieces in loot:

  • Stone Dungeon Room – Village Lot Cellar [2 Floor] (2×2) – 4 Conn
    •


New pieces in the Crown Store:

  • Stone Dungeon Room – City Lot Arena [1 Floor] (4×5) – 3 Conn
    •


  • Stone Dungeon Room – City Lot Cellar [1 Floor] (4×6) – 4 Conn
    •


– Ravalox

 

Holiday Season

This release is our last official content release for 2024. However, as the dungeon revamping effort continues, some new dungeon rooms will likely make their way into the next two releases.

We plan to have an extended livestream in December along with a new pop-up dungeon (like the chicken room) for our eleven-year anniversary. December will also be time for the next quarterly special bonus 10K COTO pack item.

We will not be continuing the dubious tradition of the short release schedule in November and December this year. The release date will still need to be shifted by a day or two to avoid Thanksgiving and Christmas, but there is an undo strain on a team as small as ours to try to complete the required minimum work needed for a release in such a short time. It is no coincidence that the last two months of the year are for bug fixes and the first content release is at the end of January.

As always, thank you for supporting the game and subscribing. More info to come!

– Ravalox

 

Release 131 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 131 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R131 is a content month. Content, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R132 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 131!

Read more…


Play Release 130!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 130 goes live September 26th at 10:30 AM CDT.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 130 (R130), it’s time for back-to-squirrel!

For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.

News Announcements

Community Updates

 

Medic’s Fishing Hat and Rod

Back in June, one of our players, Janzik, suggested that we make a specific kind of fishing hat in the wishlist forum section. We immediately put this on the schedule and figured it would be an ideal special ultra-rare for autumn.

The hat is an homage to Lt. Col. Blake’s fishing hat from the TV Show M*A*S*H, and features a tartan band, fly fishing lures, an oak cluster front and center and, as appropriate for a hat worn by a doctor, a bonus for healers.

In addition to the hat, we have created a Medic’s Fishing Rod to go along with it. The rod has military green coloring with a red cross on the reel. Together, these items will be a set that can only be obtained by purchasing a 10,750 Crowns of the Obsidians pack on the SotA website (AND receiving delivery of them in game!) from the 26th through the 4th. COTOs will be on sale during this time, so it’s really a great deal! Please note that the bonus items will be delivered shortly after the offer expires.

The base shape is also being made available as a simple craftable bucket hat and as a fancy bucket hat with contrasting band and brim.

Scottie was meticulous in creating this tribute; his attention to detail is truly remarkable! Each piece showcases a level of intricacy that feels so real. Scottie’s skill and passion are highlighted in this set!

 

Remembering Mojito

On September 6th, Atos (Chris Spears) posted that Mojito (his family’s doggo) had passed away suddenly. Mojito was Chris’ daughter’s best friend from birth and a mascot for Shroud of the Avatar. Mojito was added into the game early on as an NPC guarding the bridge along the main road into the center of Owl’s Head and has faithfully remained on duty since then.

Mojito was a welcomed guest on SotA live streams throughout the years and many will remember the Mojito-cam on Chris’s streams. To honor Mojito’s memory, a memorial to him has been placed in Brittany Graveyard and we will be delivering a Mini Marble Mojito Memorial (a tabletop statue made per Stymie’s suggestion) to every player that logs in during the month of October. It, and larger versions, will also be available via the in-game Crown Store.

Please give Mojito a pet the next time you pass through Owl’s Head.

 

Release 130 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 130 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R130 is a polish month. Content, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R131 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 130!

Read more…


Play Release 129!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 129 goes live August 29th at 10:30 AM CDT.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 129 (R129), we offer a party and some pest control.

For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.

News Announcements

Community Updates

 

Optional Subscription Updates

Shroud of the Avatar is a free-to-play game. We have ensured that the game can be played without the need to spend money apart from purchasing any expansions, such as Episode 2.

To help fund the development of the game, we have an in-game currency that can be purchased on our website which can be used to purchase non-pay-to-win items in the game’s Crown Shop. The income from direct currency sales is not sufficient to pay the Dev team and operating costs and continue game development. The bulk of the game’s income is provided by players who opt to participate in the optional subscription.

The current subscription model is not enough to keep up with increasing costs due to inflation and our small player base. To help us increase income to allow for continued development and to resume marketing, we have added two additional tiers to the subscription model.

We have completed testing and incorporating player feedback into the new three-tier format. The new subscription options will be activated on Thursday August 29th once Release 129 has been deployed.

All of the tiers will continue to have the normal bonuses and benefits: three (generally) monthly login rewards, a new title every quarter, a twelve-pack of dyes every six months, and additional deck slots as well as the below:

Tier 1  $9 (plus tax)  900 COTOs and 3 Obsidian potions monthly
Tier 2 $18 (plus tax) 2000 COTOs and 6 Obsidian potions monthly
Tier 3 $27 (plus tax) 3500 COTOs and 9 Obsidian potions monthly

Billing cycle begins on the day you start your initial subscription. Subscription cycles last for a period of one calendar month. Your subscription will automatically renew every month and your payment method will be charged at the standard price for your chosen subscription. You may cancel your plan at any time from your account page. Your status as subscribed will remain throughout the paid period. Subscription status and payment history are available on your account page in the subscriptions tab. Initial rewards will be available for redemption once payment has cleared. Subsequent rewards will be available once recurring payment has cleared.

To upgrade, downgrade, and/or update your payment method for an existing subscription, you must cancel the existing subscription and then initiate a new one. All of your earned rewards and your title level will be preserved if you cancel and sign back up later. The billing cycle will not change from your initial subscription billing date as long as you re-initiate a subscription within one month of a cancellation (that is, while you’re still in the subscription period).

 

Bug Brigade’s 4th Anniversary Party

Please join us for a party celebrating the 4th anniversary of the new Bug Brigade, hosted by the Bug Moderators Ravalox, Alley Oop, Echondas, Flair Minamoto, and Justyn! The party will start Saturday September 21st at 2PM NBT on the Bug Brigade’s Houseboat at its location in Brekken Bay off Hunters’ Island, indicated in the image on the right. We will have a live DJ spinning tunes while the party-goers dance, play party games, and more! You never know what might happen!

 

Release 129 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 129 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R129 is a polish month. Content, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R130 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 129!

Read more…


Play Release 128!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 128 goes live July 25th at 10:30 AM CDT.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 128 (R128), we offer reading, writing, and renegades.

For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.

News Announcements

Community Updates

 

Disharmony in Cantabrigia

Port Harmony’s Minister of the Hearth has made a concerted effort to lead the city as a cohesive whole but there are always a few people who are not in tune.

The Minister of Coins is missing and presumed dead. There are camps of renegades in the hills above town, likely from the larger group holed up in the Outlaws’ Run, making the edges of the town unsafe for citizen and visitor alike. There’s been sabotage to the city’s cistern. Attacks on the merchant caravans attempting to establish trade with Grusk and Vikland are increasing. All this has been tied to rumors of a leader called the Mallard. This seems like too much effort just for petty criminals; is there some greater goal than a bit of coin behind it all?

Despite requests, Peregrine, said to be the “one true Avatar,” has made no moves to address this growing dissonance. Will you talk to Minister Webb about the renegades and find out what must be done? When you know, will you do it?

 

Subscription and Website Updates

Tassilo has completed the tech for the multi-tier subscription model we have been talking about for so long. Tassilo and I are in the process of completing final tests as well as refining the wording and graphics. We expect to have this live sometime this month.

The optional subscription will now come in three tiers. All of the tiers will continue to have the normal bonuses and benefits: three (generally) monthly login rewards, three Obsidian Potions, a new title every quarter, a twelve-pack of dyes every six months, and additional deck slots as well as the below:

Tier 1  $9 (plus tax)  900 COTOs monthly
Tier 2 $18 (plus tax) 2000 COTOs monthly
Tier 3 $27 (plus tax) 3500 COTOs monthly

Billing cycle begins on the day you start your initial subscription. Subscription cycles last for a period of one calendar month. Your subscription will automatically renew every month and your payment method will be charged at the standard price for your chosen subscription. You may cancel your plan at any time from your account page. Your status as subscribed will remain throughout the paid period. Subscription status and payment history are available on your account page in the subscriptions tab. Initial rewards will be available for redemption once payment has cleared. Subsequent rewards will be available once recurring payment has cleared.

To upgrade, downgrade, and/or update your payment method for an existing subscription, you must cancel the existing subscription and then initiate a new one. All of your earned rewards and title level will be preserved if you cancel and sign back up later. The billing cycle will not change from your initial subscription billing date when you re-initiate a subscription within one month of a cancellation (that is, while you’re still in the subscription period).

We are also updating the website. Since the main landing page is static and old information, we have changed it so anyone going to shroudoftheavatar.com while not logged in will now go to the “All Updates” page instead of the old initial landing page with the promo video on it. The old page will find a home somewhere on our site in some form.

We are also making changes to re-home the Community TOS, Streaming Program, Art Submission, and many other policies on the main website instead of using dev-posted forum threads. There will still be links in the forum to find the appropriate webpages.

The policy updates and other website changes will be ongoing. We will post an announcement in the forums as each change is made.

– Ravalox

 

Release 128 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 128 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R128 is a content month. Content, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R129 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 128!

Read more…


Play Release 127!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 127 goes live June 27th at 10:30 AM CDT.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 127 (R127), we offer large friends and sharp edges.

For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.

News Announcements

Community Updates

 

Titles of the New Britannian Empire

We have created a new physical certificate for those awarded the Order of the New Britannian Empire (ONBE) and Chaotic of New Britannian Empire (CNBE) honors going forward. The certificates will replace the Medals sent out in the past as medal supplies are exhausted.

We have completed an audit of the ONBE and CNBE awards given out over the last ten years and corrected some errors in the list currently posted on the player-run SotAwiki. The updated list will be posted on the Wiki soon. Part of this audit and clean-up also allows us to finally deliver in-game ONBE and CNBE medals to the members of these two prestigious groups.

Since the medals are not visible in game (we have no solid visual for the necklace slot), we have also created an in-game plaque displaying a version of the ONBE or CNBE award certificate. The in-game medals and plaques will be GM-named for the specific awarded player and delivered sometime during R127 via in-game mail.

 

Lord British Birthday Livestream

Come one, come all! We will be having a special livestream on the 12th of July at 4 PM CT in honor of Lord British’s 63rd birthday. Lord British and other special guests will join us for some stories, updates, and monster mayhem in addition to our normal updates! The livestream is scheduled to last for four hours and will include details on recent releases, some information of what’s coming up, and (of course) SotA Q&A!

We have created a special Lord British item that is only available by purchasing a 10K COTO pack on the website through July 12th. This Brutal Battle-Axe shows the scars and blood of battle when equipped and magically becomes pristine when placed as a decoration. The battle-axe also has some special properties when wielded, so all should beware who go up against someone with this weapon!

These will be delivered soon after the eligibility period ends on July 12th.

This battle-axe will not be offered for sale at any other time, ever. This is the third item in our ultra-rare series, with more to come!

 

Release 127 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 127 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R127 is a polish month. Content, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R128 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 127!

Read more…


Play Release 126!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 126 goes live May 30th at 10:30 AM CDT.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 126 (R126), we offer many-legged portraits, human and otherwise.

For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.

News Announcements

Community Updates

 

New Britannian Film Stars

Way back in 2018, while Travian Games and Portalarium were still involved in the production of Shroud of the Avatar, a series of short promotional videos were created and published as part of the marketing campaign. One of those videos was called “Player Town Party” and was set in Darkshire Hills cast entirely by players, 28 in all.

Much effort was put into preparing and executing the event. Cerus of Travian Games worked with Ravalox to coordinate and record the event. There was crafting, dueling, and dancing; a group of players even formed a band and performed during the recording to show off the instrument synchronization feature.

At the end of the video the cast can be seen having an artist capture the event on canvas. Though the canvas was lost soon after the artist completed the work, it has been found and, with the help of Caravaggios Wolf, the canvas has been restored and made available to the folks at the Crown Mercantile shop and warehouse to be added into their extensive Crown Store catalog.

The cast members will be receiving the title of “Film Star” along with their own copy of the painting. If you see one of New Britannia’s Stars during your travels, don’t be shy about asking for an autograph!

The video can be seen here:

 

More New Bug Brigade Rewards

The Bug Brigade has gained four new rewards for distribution in future months: a pair of portrait-oriented insect paintings to intersperse with the three existing landscape ones and a pair of butterfly chairs in new colors to complement the original one. We’ve also made choose-one bags of existing rewards for those who’ve already received all the scheduled items in various categories. The official reward schedule in the forum post will be updated to include these soon.

 

Read more…


Play Release 125!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 125 goes live April 25th at 10:30 AM CDT.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 125 (R125), we offer days with frog and troll.

For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.

News Announcements

Community Updates

 

Scottie Recreates His Elegant Wooden Lion Chair

[From a Forum Post by Scott Jones]

Salutations!

I’d meant to post this a bit earlier, but alas life seems to get in the way (honestly, I’ve had my nose pressed onto FAR TOO many different grindstones, and it’s been difficult juggling everything)! But I’ve been wanting to create THIS particular item for quite some time! Back in the days when a lot of local player events were going on in Austin, I was honored to host quite a number of our players at my own humble home! As a result, they were able to get a gander at some of the interesting artifacts that fill my house, and especially some of my favorite relics of furniture, costumery, and other decorations that I’ve always enjoyed taking to SCA encampments and wearing when attending medieval and renaissance fairs both near and far! One type of furniture I have always treasured (and which is often commented upon by guests) is my late medieval-styled, lion-headed, wooden folding chair …of which I was lucky enough to acquire three!

Mine are not true historical artifacts, but instead the result of some really good work (I believe coming out of India, at the time) which was being sold at a place called Pier 1 Imports long, long ago, back in the late 80’s, when I first joined the SCA! You can still find chairs like this being sold from time to time, but CERTAINLY not at the insanely low prices I got mine for when Pier 1 decided they were done carrying them, and sold them all of for the stultifying price of $15 EACH!!!!! The design is based on one of the MANY different styles of these chairs, such as the Sedia Savonarola, which was a late medieval folding chair that originated in Northern Italy and became popular during the 15th and 16th century! Certainly go check out such chairs online to see the plethora of styles that existed!

Read of my work and see the result in my forum post.

Anyway, when all was said and done I was really happy with the outcome, and I’m hoping you enjoyed my little creative journey I took making something for you fine folks that I’ve been wanting to make for quite a while! As always, I’m not exactly sure how the “powers that be” will be making it available to you all, but I do know that it should be coming your way fairly soon! Thanks again for your interest in my endeavors!

Scottie ^_^

 

Release 125 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 125 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R125 is a content month. Polish, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R126 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 125!

Read more…


Play Release 124!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 124 goes live March 28th at 10:30 AM CDT.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 124 (R124), we offer many traditional spring signs of life but also a reminder of death.

For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.

News Announcements

Community Updates

 

Join the Annual Easter Egg Hunt!

We will be holding our annual Egg Hunt event in game! Join Laney and other Devs for any of the one-hour event windows on Saturday, March 30th in Mount Midir:

We have scheduled the event windows in such a way as to allow Avatars from all over the world to participate.

Good luck!

 

Scottie’s Work on the New 2024 DarkStarr Metronome

[From a Forum Post by Scott Jones]

Greetings and Salutations folks!

It’s been a bit since I’ve had the chance to reach out and post about stuff I’m working on! And there are a few things I’m working on that I need to wait for a bit before I can reveal the coolness! But lucky for me I just finished something that, though not incredibly elaborate of a task, is delicious enough to present! Of course, this post is just about me and my workflow, as well as my creative thoughts about the task, so I can’t really conjecture about when this will become available or how folks will be able get one into their hot little hands,…but I WILL be showing you some blow-by-blow images reflecting the steps I took to essentially give the old, original DarkStarr Metronome a new and updated look to revel in the classic style of DarkStarr’s glory as our resident Lord of Chaos (and Gothic Fashionista :D).

The inspiration, of course, is the fact that Starr recently celebrated another trip around the sun in our real world, and we thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to honor him in the game with a thoughtful re-working of his old, somewhat brown/bronze-ish Metronome into a more sharp and stylish color-scheme with an extra bit of decorative “flourish” thrown in?” I, for one, always recognized the early, original version as something worth revisiting for the sake of a visual update, at least texture-wise. Here you can see it below!

I really don’t recall the mind-set, at the time, which guided the original artist towards that particular color-scheme, but it certainly always had that “copper and bronze steampunk” sort of aesthetic appeal. Its original motto inscribed at its base, “AS TIME PASSES DEATH APPROACHES”, added a wonderfully sinister edge to the already macabre design and somewhat rusty appearance of its inner workings and gear/scythe combination that gets exposed as part of its “tick-tock” timing mechanism within. Fun stuff! But how to re-visit and offer something a bit different while still maintaining and respecting the initial design?

Read of my work and see the result in my forum post.

Take care for now, folks, and I’ll be back soon to post a little something about some other stuff I’m working on! I hope to make it a habit once again!

Yours truly,
Scottie ^_^

 

Release 124 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 124 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R124 is a polish month. Content, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R125 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 124!

Read more…


Play Release 123!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 123 goes live February 29th at 10:30 AM CST.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 123 (R123), we offer a little space and a lot of water.

For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.

News Announcements

Community Updates

 

Build a Bazaar With the New Market Lots!

Sometimes you want just small space with no home for an open-air shop. A nice tent, a few stalls… portable and low-maintenence! Our new Market Lots are 10 by 8 meters: the same frontage and just a smidge over half the depth of a Row Lot.

Here is a sample market showing a variety of possible uses:

After a few internal adjustments to some that almost fit, all but the largest tents will fit on a Market Lot, as well as all the craftable stalls and awnings, albeit with some player resizing needed for the larger ones.

  • Tent (Craftable)
  • Welcome Tent
  • Small Canvas Tent (Craftable)
  • Medium Canvas Tent
  • Small Elven Tent (Craftable)
  • Medium Elven Tent
  • Small Knight’s tent
  • Large Knight’s Tent
  • Great Knight’s Tent
  • Triangle Kobold Tent (Craftable)
  • Small Kobold Tent (Craftable)
  • Medium Kobold Tent
  • Virtue Oktoberfest Tent
  • Wide Market Tent
  • Blue Stall Awning (Craftable)
  • Green Stall Awning (Craftable)
  • Red Stall Awning (Craftable)
  • Barn Stall (Craftable)
  • Tall Barn Stall (Craftable)
  • Thin Barn Stall (Craftable)

…as well as a miscellany of sheds, gazebos, pavilions, wells, and outhouses. Some decorated lot examples are below:

Expand for more pictures:


Market Lot decoration limits are:

  • Exterior Objects: 100
  • Exterior Lights: 4
  • Containers: 20
  • NPCs: 1
  • Basements and Dungeons: None!

A 10-pack of Market Lot Property Markers is available for Governors and Stewards in the Crown Store.

As one may always claim a lot with any deed that size or above, and as these lots will be created only by placing Property Markers in Player-Owned Towns, all existing deeds can claim these as they are the new smallest size. However, taxed deeds for Market Lots can be purchased in the Crown Store and upgraded to tax free for Crowns of the Obsidians:

  • Deed, Market (POT, Taxed): 1,100 COTOs
  • Deed, Market (POT, Tax Free): 2,100 COTOs

We hope you find this new lot size useful and inspiring!

 

Live Free on the Sea: POT Tax Free Water Deeds

Village, Town, City, Keep, and Castle POT Tax Free Water Deeds are now available through upgrade of existing non-Founder deeds with Crowns of the Obsidians. You don’t have to be a pirate to hoodwink the tax man, though it helps!

The upgrade values for these new deeds are:

Deed, Village (POT, Tax Free, Water)  5,500 COTOs
Deed, Town (POT, Tax Free, Water) 11,000 COTOs
Deed, City (POT, Tax Free, Water) 22,000 COTOs
Deed, Keep (POT, Tax Free, Water) 44,000 COTOs
Deed, Castle (POT, Tax Free, Water) 88,000 COTOs

Note that the only Water Keep and Castle Lots currently available in Player Owned Towns are the baked-in ones; placeable Property Markers for these sizes are soon to be created but, unlike the baked-in ones, will not be toggle-able to an island for land home placement.

 

Release 123 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 123 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R123 is a polish month. Polish, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R124 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 123!

Read more…