Updates

Update of the Avatar #225 – 2017.04.28: Play R41 Now, Moondial Madness, The Oracle, Outskirts Updates, Community Livestream, Raffle Winners, City+ Property Flash Sale, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Play Release 41 Now!Release 41 successfully launched yesterday, April 27, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in to check out the changes! There’s lots of new content to explore, including:

Read more…


Community Livestream – The Outskirts: Part 1

Community of the Avatar

What we’re about to show you is going to take two livestreams! For Part 1, tomorrow we will bring back Travis “Vas Corp Por” Koleski to show off the now live Solace Bridge Outskirts. Then Chris “Seawolf” Wolf and Damien “Puuk” Foletto will show you the upcoming Highvale Outskirts scene.

As we announced during the Spring Telethon, we are adding three new maps to the game that we are calling “Outskirts”. These scenes will be very close to the three starting scenes and players will go directly there after finishing those starting scenes. Outskirts will be very large scenes, similar in scope to some of our recent big scenes like Blood Bay. This will allow them to be large enough that players can base themselves in a single scene for adventuring, resupply for their first couple of hours without having to go through multiple scene loads, or having to use the Overworld.

One month from now (don’t worry, we will have livestreams in the interim), we will be talking about all three Outskirts scenes, including Bloodriver Outskirts!

The fun begins on Twitch this Friday at 4pm CT. Also join the community watching on Discord chat to ask your questions about these Outskirts scenes.


Release 41 Instructions

Starr_avatar

[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 41 access for all Early Access backers begins this Thursday, April 27, at 10:30 AM US Central Daylight Time (15:30 UTC).

Release 41 (R41) is another leap forward in progress with an incredible amount of new content (5 new scenes!) as well as a ton of balance and polish. The Path of Truth is now playable from beginning to end, including the twisted Halls of Artifice, Solace Bridge Outskirts now eases new players into the game at a much better pace, more gear can be placed as decorations, combat got lots of balancing including Taming, and Localization has resumed. Read more…


Upcoming Outskirts Scenes: Highvale and Bloodriver

As we announced during the Spring Telethon, we are adding three new maps to the game that we are calling “Outskirts”. These scenes will be very close to the three starting scenes and players will go directly there after finishing those starting scenes. Outskirts will be very large scenes, similar in scope to some of our recent big scenes like Blood Bay. This will allow them to be large enough that players can base themselves in a single scene for adventuring, resupply for their first couple of hours without having to go through multiple scene loads, or having to use the Overworld.

Each scene will have a small outpost that will include some shopkeepers, trainers, crafting stations, and a few quest givers (and no player housing!). The scenes will also include plenty of adventuring areas (forests, ruins, bandit camps, etc.).

From last week’s Update of the Avatar #224, we’ve introduced the second and third outskirts scenes! See the amazing screenshots below:

Read more…


New and Improved Store Purchasing Interface

This morning we updated the store purchasing interface with a new and friendlier design! For all items purchased though the ‘STORE’ menu on the main website, you now have an easier view of which transaction options are available with which to purchase items:

You will notice that we do not have Bitcoins listed as we did before this change. It was necessary to remove the option while we explore an improve compatibility with Bitcoin transaction processes and the new store interface.

Bitcoins will make a return! We do not have an exact date on this return just yet, but will let you know as soon as we have one to announce.


The Making of The Fall (with a First Look video!)

From last week’s Update of the Avatar #224:

No one is quite sure who built this mysterious dungeon beneath Blood Bay, but it is filled with an incredible array of dangers, and rewards. The Fall gets its name from the giant vertical open space that defines the middle of the dungeon with crisscrossing bridges and elevators. This dungeon is an Open PVP area, so enter at your own risk! We plan to have this live in Release 41.

An update to The Fall:

This area is the duel arena where players can come and participate in or watch duels. The doors to waiting rooms can be opened by a MC above for fair timing. There’s a couple moving platforms to make it interesting (if you fall in the holes they’re full of nasty spikes but you can jump back up via vents on either side). Read more…


Update of the Avatar #224 – 2017.04.21: The Oracle and Grannus, Telethon Weapons, New Outskirts, The Fall (update), Join the Localization Team, Trophy Contest, New Flash Sales, HoBLotH IV, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

The Oracle and Grannus

As we are moving through the final sections of the story we are working on the characters you will interact with at critical parts of your paths. In Release 37 we added Priestess of the Wind Khasi and Shogun Siranto. In Release 41 we will be adding the Titan Grannus, currently ruler of the Norgard people. Titan Grannus is one of the pivotal characters you will encounter along the Path of Courage. He wears Viking inspired royal armor with the yellow highlights thought to keep Kobolds at bay. In Release 43 we will be adding the Oracle who watches all. This week we posted progress on these two characters.

[A Dev+ Forum Post by Fletcher “SkullMuncher34” Kinnear]

Hello all! So we’re finally creating the Oracle as an in-game NPC. Not the automatons or the outpost oracles, but the one true ORACLE. This is where we will post screenshots and works in progress as we get her ready for an upcoming release. Cheers!

Read more…


The Magnificent Trophy Room Contest Begins!

Get your houses ready for the most intense contest yet this year! Over the next several weeks, you will have the fun opportunity to show off your hunting heroism, crafting coordination, and trophy triumphs in this new three part contest kicking off today.

PART 1: Hunt down a creature, kill another player (to get their skull), or catch a fish!

PART 2: Craft the trophy from that creature (human skulls come as-is, no preparation needed…)

PART 3: Display your trophy triumphs in a single room of a house you have access too!​

WINNERS & PRIZES

Prizes will be awarded on a tier basis:

  • 1st Place: 100 in-game COTOs and three developer skulls of your choice.
  • 2nd Place: 50 COTOs and two developer skulls of your choice.
  • Two Runner-ups: 25 COTOs and one developer skull of your choice.
  • All valid entries will receive a custom title in-game (exact title yet to be decided… community suggestions are welcome! Should refer to the contest in some way, and not be a title that we would use for other hunting/trophy purposes.)

As we receive contest submissions, they will be announced in the forums and on social with eventually a gallery of all submissions put together. Winners will be announced at the start of the Summer Telethon on May 31 around 12:30pm CT.

Read more about the contest and submit your entry in the forums!


Community of the Avatar – The Rise of The Fall

Community of the Avatar

Watch your step and your stamina, Avatars! We’re going to be carefully making our way through the treacherous PvP dungeon known as The Fall on tomorrow’s community livestream. World builders Dan & Travis will be joining us to show off the scene.

No one is quite sure who from the world’s historical residents originally built this mysterious dungeon beneath Blood Bay, but it is filled with an incredible array of dangers and rewards. The Fall gets its name from the giant vertical open space that defines the middle of dungeon with crisscrossing bridges and elevators. It is also an Open PVP area, so enter at your own risk…

The Fall is due to rise in next week’s Release 41 game update!

The fun begins on Twitch this Friday at 4pm CT. Also join the community watching on Discord chat to ask your questions about The Fall and other livestream shenanigans.


Community Spotlight: Port Phoenix – Player Owned Town

This week’s Player Owned Town spotlight has me, ‘Berek’ as I go by in the community, travelling by boat to visit the popular town of Port Phoenix on the Isle of Elysium. I received a direct invitation from Count Kazyn Phoenixfyre, who I met while admittedly getting a bit lost exploring the nearby Elysian Plains.

I arrived late in the evening on the docks and was immediately taken by the calm, quiet beauty of the townscape. With little energy for the evening, we made are way to the Once and Future Inn for a room for myself and a hot meal. Kazyn helped me get checked in and then departed until we planned to meet after I got some needed rest.

Read more…