Updates

Release 49 Instructions

[From a forum post by Starr “Darkstarr” Long]

Avatars,

Please read this entire message, as well as the linked instructions and known issues.

Thank you for being a loyal backer and follower of Shroud of the Avatar. Release 49 access for all Early Access backers begins this Thursday, December 14, at 10:30 AM US Central Standard Time (15:30 UTC).

NOTE: The last two releases of the year are much earlier in the months than normal due to the holidays (Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, etc.). However, despite the brevity of this release, you will see that we still managed to get a huge amount of work done!

Release 49 is the fourth release in which we focused on our Top 10 Priorities for Launch. We continued to made strong progress on framerate, story polish, and creation of  new scenes. We also created more side quests and tons of other new content, including virtue armor and holiday content. Read more…


Community Spotlight – Festival

Located as a Nested POT in Owl’s Head, Festival was founded as a village alongside the more well known Owl’s Head town. Now these two towns share heavy traffic as goods are traded on a daily basis. Festival has that frosty holiday cheer to it, so now is a perfect time to visit!

As told by town Govenor, Engineer (aka Datendrache)…

How does a miner become the Govenor of a Hidden Vale reach, home to lavish parties and known as a playground for nobility and avatar alike? Well, friend, let me tell you a story…

Read more…


Avatar’s Update #257: The Making of East Longfall Wetland

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

The Making of East Longfall Wetland

We have been focusing many of our scene rebuilds (aka “un-clones”) on the lower tier scenes near the cities along the paths of Truth and Courage. These are all Tier 1 – 3 scenes that players encounter near the beginnings of their play experience. In addition to being rebuilt, we are also adding side quests to them.

In Release 49 one of these scenes is East Longfall Wetland (the companion scene to South Longfall Wetland). It is a swampy Tier 1 area directly east of Aerie in the Longfall region.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Travis “Vas Corp Por” Koleski]

A few more scenes in East Longfall Wetland: 

Read more…


Make a Difference: 2017 Charitable Giving Report

In accordance with Portalarium’s founding purpose to promote goodwill and make a positive difference in the world, we established our Make a Difference store back in May of 2015 to coincide with Rize Up Gaming’s Water.org charity drive. Through that store we donate anywhere between 10-50% of the net proceeds from purchases of items made by our community.

Since that time we have added multiple charities including Autism Awareness, Breast Cancer, Blood Charities, Movember, and more. We have also participated in multiple charitable efforts with our amazing community like the Aerie Fund. This October we added hospital themed items to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Doctors Without Borders as well as expanded the Make a Difference concept outside the confines of the Make a Difference Store to over 90 items in the Add-On Store.

Through purchases of Make a Difference items by our community we have raised over $40,000 for charity since starting the Make a Difference Store in 2015! Our grand total as of December 7, 2017 is:

** $44,111.79 **

Thank you, Avatars, for being so virtuous!

NOTE: Items go on and off sale during telethons, weekend flash sales, etc. so prices visible on the store are not necessarily the price the item sold for when calculating sales totals.

Water.org $16,761.60  

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To date, we have raised $16,761.60 for Water.org, from contributions by our generous backers through purchases of items such as the Ornate Outhouse, Wishing Well, Water Cloak, and /rain emote. Water.org is a nonprofit organization that has transformed hundreds of communities in Africa, South Asia, and Central America by providing access to safe water and sanitation. You can learn more about the projects your donation helps support here.

Read more…


Community Livestream – Desert Roving Encounters

The end of the year is nearly upon us, but that isn’t stopping us from livestreaming the latest and greatest upcoming content to you guys!

For this week’s Community Livestream, we’ll be bringing on Keith “Sannio” Quinn to talk about the Desert Roving Encounters. See the above image for a sneak peek of these dangerous creatures currently in the game’s more desert environments. Also on the show will be the return of Bob Cooksey to show off the fancy new Clock Towers he is working on, and finally our Sound Designer, Kat “Bread Vendor” Wenske, who has an update for you on the Oracle and Sequanna Finale sounds.

As usual, we will be giving away seasonal prizes, so stick around throughout the livestream for a chance to win!

The fun begins on Twitch this Friday at 4pm CT. Also join the community watching on Discord chat to ask questions about what’s presented:


Community Spotlight – Whyte Roc

Located in the region of Quel, near the Etceter Crag Mines, Whyte Roc was founded in the year 493PC as a small crossroads village. Since it’s founding, the town has since grown into a metropolis that overlooks the mighty glistening Bay of Storms.

The town has some neighboring allies, which it relies on for commerce. Many of White Roc’s inhabitants spend their days working the mines, located just a short trip along the Crag Foothills. The warriors, on the other hand, spend their time warring against the undead and elves that infest the region.

As told by town Govenor, Cypher Black…

It is a dangerous place to be traveling in the undead and elven regions, so when visiting White Roc, be sure to avoid those areas on your way to our magnificent town!

Read more…


Avatar’s Update #256: The Making of Elysium Mines

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

The Making of Elysium Mines

While digging some of the deeper tunnels for the Elysium Mines the Satyr miners discovered an elaborate labyrinth with two giant statues looming over the entire complex. Legend has it that the statues are of two brothers and one of the brothers killed the other and that deadly feud is the source of the undead haunting the maze.

[A Dev+ Forum Post by Chris “Sea Wolf” Wolf]

Hey folks, I have a few screenshot of our uncloning of Elysium Mines. In our new version, Satyrs are looting and mining from and ancient labyrinthine city. The mines are also home to a horde of spirits and undead who serve the ghost of one of the “Twins” who’s spirit was trapped by his bother in the labyrinth. The visual inspiration for this mine comes from the Minoan City of Knossos in Crete, where the original Labyrinth from Greek mythology was said to have been. The glowing river is partially inspired by the river Styx, and is closely associated with the spirits wandering the labyrinth.

Due to feedback we received from our uncloning of other mines, I’ve decided to split this mine into two areas that will serve different player interest. The lower area of the mines will be resource rich, and comparable to the original mines. The upper areas will have more enemies, puzzles and traps, for players who want more of an adventuring experience. This scene is still a work in progress.

Read more…


Release 48 Postmortem Telethon

** $75,000 **

Telethon Funds Raised

 

Telethon Stretch Goal Rewards:

  • ACHIEVED! $10K: Icicles Pattern Cloak
  • ACHIEVED! $25K: Ice Hot Tub
  • ACHIEVED! $35K: Ice Elemental Statue with icy effects
  • ACHIEVED! $50K: Ice Sword & Ice Shield
  • ACHIEVED! $65K: Ice Crown, Ice & Snow Themed Gown, and Ice Wand
  • $80K: Ice Dragon Statue with icy effects

Greetings Avatars,

The next Postmortem Telethon, for Release 48, is already fast approaching! The winter season has fully set in and we’re celebrating with holiday stretch goal items ready to be achieved. This telethon is coming up fast on December 1!

This telethon is going to mark a new format for some items. We will be somewhat going back to briefer Deep Dives. Also, we will be focusing more on related questions to those Deep Dives. Please see below on what questions we will and will not be taking.

Read more…


Avatar’s Update #255: Armor of Truth Full Set

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

Armor of Truth Full Set

Several weeks ago we showed off the first pieces (helms and chest pieces) of the armors of the three principles of Truth, Love, and Courage. Two weeks ago we showed you the full sets of the Courage and Love Armors.

[A Dev+ Forum Post by Starr “Darkstarr” Long]

The helms and chest pieces went live in Release 48 as part of quests in the Outskirts (helms) and the new mines (chest pieces). Starting in Release 49 the remaining pieces of the armor (gloves, leggings, and boots) will start to appear as rewards for other quests. 

Cloth Armor of Truth Full Set:
Read more…


Community Spotlight – New Fawn

Today’s spotlight is about a very old town, one that was around before the days of the sundering. Long before the world was re-made into the lands of Novia and Hidden Vale, this town had many names. It was often called Fawn and sometimes “The City of the Sea”. It was originally a beautiful place to visit and honor a great many people.

Since those times, the town has grown, but many parts have kept the ways of the past. You can still find the followers of Love in one of the town’s three boroughs, along with followers of Virtue and Chaos. Smiths do not hide their exotic armor and weapons anymore, but actively promote their skills. All who live here now come willingly and with hope to see the town eventually grow to be a major seaport.

Let us take a tour of the crossroads sized town of New Fawn. My name is Warrior B’Patrick and I will guide you. I was elected governor 36 years ago as noted in the records of this land. I had no experience leading a town, but I care deeply for all creatures and so the residents of New Fawn deemed me worthy of the title. Since that day New Fawn has grown into the city you see upon visiting.

New Fawn is located in the Naryad Channel and can be reached from the town of Harvest using a boat at the docks, or reached via our sister town of Hollaim using a wagon near the stables. There is a note on the town’s bulletin boards with instructions.

Read more…