Updates

Release 39 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 39 access for all Early Access backers begins this Thursday, February 23, at 10:30 AM US Central Standard Time (15:30 UTC).

Despite February being a short month and therefore Release 39 being a short release, we have a ton of new content in this release; including more story, new scenes, and major new systems such as Patterns, Town Blessings, and Magic Movers! Read more…


Update of the Avatar #215 – 2017.02.17: Clockwork Attack!, Town Blessings, Weekend Flash Sale, Rhun Ruins and K’rawl, Crafter’s Competition, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Clockwork Attack!

The City Kobolds defend their territories fiercely, and part of their defenses are an army of Clockwork beasts. Players have already seen some of these in previous releases including the Shock Monkey and Clockwork Dragon. In R39, the Clockwork menagerie expands to include Attack and size variants of some of our existing Clockwork beasts. The Clockwork Attack Dogs and Cats (who are mountain lion sized) are used by Kobold guard patrols to knockdown and tear up trespassers. The Clockwork Attack Ravens have confusion fields that make fighting them especially challenging. We will also introduce giant versions of the Shock Monkey that have stomp and throw attacks as well as a scaled down version of the Clockwork Dragon that works for interior spaces. Finally, there will be giant versions of the Oracle Flyers and Oracle Crawlers that shock and stun players who try to fight them.

In celebration of these new nasty clockwork beasts, all clockwork pets are on sale this weekend for 20% (see below for details).

[A Dev+ Forum Post by Kevin “UglyFist” Wells]

Hey everybody!

So, we’ve made some baddies out of our clockwork pets. These are definitely not pets. We’ve made them bigger, badder, and way deadly. These clockwork creatures are designed to take as much blood from you as they can with their razor sharp claws, teeth, spikes, and a bad attitude. The idea was to make them dark and stealthy. The models may be updated a bit here and there before I call them finished – but as they are, they are already bad news.

Check these guys out… Read more…


Spring 2017 Crafter’s Competition – Gear Design Contest

Fire up those kilns and ready your hammers! The Spring 2017 Crafter’s Competition has begun! This first event will be a Gear Design Contest with other events, possibly quarterly, kicking off throughout the year.

In the last contest segment we had you capture a fight with a boss monster in the game. To survive such an intensive fight, a great deal of armor and powerful weaponry must be wielded! In this follow-up contest, we want you to design the most powerful weapons and armor you can muster.

As we receive submissions, they will be announced on Twitter and Facebook with eventually a gallery of all submissions on Facebook. If we get enough of them, we may make this a regular quarterly crafting event!

Read more…


Introducing Town Blessings

Greetings Avatars,

In Release 39 the first iteration of Town Blessings will be going live. Owners of Player Towns will have the ability to place 11 different Devotionals to the 8 Virtues and 3 Principles in their towns.

Each Devotional offers a different blessing and the power of the blessing is based on how many people live in the town. To receive a blessing you merely need to stand near a Devotional that has been placed in a POT (or NPC town). Players can only have one blessing active at any time so visiting a Devotional while another blessing is active will overwrite the current blessing. These Devotionals also attract the attention of the Cabalists and there is a chance that your town will come under siege if you have them placed (this will come online in R40).

Here is a list of the base level Devotionals that are included with each POT and the associated blessings (each one listed is a placeable decoration, see pictures):

  • Truth: Intelligence Buff
  • Love: Dexterity Buff
  • Courage: Strength Buff
  • Humility: Magic Resistance Buff and Fishing Bait Recovery Buff
  • Honesty: Focus Buff and Alchemy Buff
  • Justice: Fizzle Reduction and Cooking Buff
  • Honor: Focus Regeneration Buff and Agriculture Buff
  • Spirituality: Adventuring Level Buff and Fishing Level Buff
  • Compassion: Dodge Buff and Tailoring Buff
  • Sacrifice: Health Regeneration Buff and Carpentry Buff
  • Valor: Health Buff and Blacksmith Buff

Read more…


Community of the Avatar – Crawling To K’rul

Community of the Avatar

Join us this Friday at 4pm CT for another Community of the Avatar livestream!

Keith “Sannio” Quinn (World Builder/Level Designer on the team) will be back on the livestream, but this time with his partner-in-crime, Dan “PlagueOfLocust” Brennan! They will both be taking us on a tour of K’rul, an upcoming Blood Bay linked PvE dungeon set to go live in Release 39, as well as a secret connecting tunnel called K’rawl.

Ask your K’rul specific questions (up to 3 in one post) in the Comments section below for both Keith and Dan! During the livestream, also join us on Discord chat to win prizes and ask any other questions you have.

The fun begins live on Twitch this Friday!


The Making of Rhun Ruins with Developer Video

From last week’s Update of the Avatar #214:

The Rhun Ruins are one of the six ruined cities found in Novia that date back to the period in Novian history in which the Obsidian Order rose to power. (As described in the Sword of Midras prequel novel by Tracy Hickman and Richard Garriott). The exact history of some of these cities has been lost to time, but it is rumored that some of them may have been abandoned even before the rise of the Obsidians. Rhun was a city devoted to Compassion but has since been overrun with the undead. It is located in the Drachvald region in the northeast of Novia.

Rhun started as a clone of the Dysborg Ruins, but is getting completely rebuilt this release to have a unique layout and visuals. We are expressly focusing on being sure the map has interesting setups for PVP conflict, with plenty of space for hiding, escaping, ambushing, and skirmishing.

Read more…


Update of the Avatar #214 – 2017.02.10: City Kobolds, Item Reshaping, Upper Fortus, Rhun Ruins, K’rul Crawl, Kobold Flash Sale, Alienware Steam Giveaway, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

City Kobolds and Kobold Chests

In Release 39, we began work on what we are calling our City Kobolds. These are the Kobolds that live in Skrekk and other places like K’rul. They are much more advanced than anyone else in Novia and the source of almost all of the technology that you see in the game, including clockwork creatures and aether vibration amplifiers. City Kobolds use advanced armor and weaponry including chainswords, electric axes, gas guns, electric blunderbusses, grenades, etc.

In some cases, City Kobolds are friendly to players (depending on story elements) and there are rumors of City Kobold Merchants who sell rare Kobold technology to players. The other Kobolds players have interacted with until now have been what we call Village Kobolds, and will remain what players encounter in outdoor zones and small Kobold habitations. In Release 39, you will be able to find our first round of City Kobolds in K’rul. In Release 40 we will be updating Skrekk with City Kobold, including a new unique visual for King Kobarr.

Read more…


Community Spotlight: Saint Haley – Player Owned Town

This latest Player Owned Town spotlight has Berek exploring the seaside port of Saint Haley! Neighboring Aerie, entrance to the town is as convenient as using the provided transport.

When I stepped out of the boat that brought me here, the first thing I noticed was the breeze coming from the sea. The lack of other noises besides the soft crashing of waves along the shoreline, and the sound of the seagulls high in the air, instantly calmed myself from the rough boat ride. I also noticed the glow of the obsidian lights and the towering Oracle statutes off to my right.

I walked up the slope and found myself at a massive walled fortress. It was clearly an ancient Obsidian outpost with its dark walls and pointed spires.

Read more…


The Making of Rhun Ruins

The Rhun Ruins are one of the six ruined cities found in Novia that date back to the period in Novian history in which the Obsidian Order rose to power. (As described in the Sword of Midras prequel novel by Tracy Hickman and Richard Garriott). The exact history of some of these cities has been lost to time, but it is rumored that some of them may have been abandoned even before the rise of the Obsidians. Rhun was a city devoted to Compassion but has since been overrun with the undead. It is located in the Drachvald region in the northeast of Novia.

Rhun started as a clone of the Dysborg Ruins, but is getting completely rebuilt this release to have a unique layout and visuals. We are expressly focusing on being sure the map has interesting setups for PVP conflict, with plenty of space for hiding, escaping, ambushing, and skirmishing.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldivar]

Hey guys! SorcerousSteve here with a sneak peek of the Rhun Ruins! Currently a work in progress, the Rhun Ruins are located on the eastern coast of Drachvald. Once a City of Compassion, its fascination with Obsidian became so high that it brought about its own demise.

Read more…


Update of the Avatar #213 – 2017.02.03: The Making of Upper Fortus, Rhun Ruins, & K’rul, R38 Postmortem, IronMaiden’s Chemo Relief Telethon, Water Decorations, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

The Making of Upper Fortus

The Fortus River runs south-to-north through a large canyon in the North Paladis region near the Sanctus Spine Control Point. Kobolds have established a mining facility here using steam to soften the terrain. Bandits have a camp nearby and have been raiding the shipments of ore and therefore, the Kobolds have been ramping up their defenses of the mining facility. Expect strong resistance when trying to raid the Kobold mining camp; and the bandits are not going to be too friendly either!

This scene started as a clone of North Varisalla Foothills but is being completely rebuilt for a live date hopefully in Release 40.

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

I have a few screenshots of progress being made on Upper Fortus.

The Southern Canyon/ Upper Fortus Falls

Read more…