Updates

Homes of New Britannia – House Decorating Contest Winners!


Congratulations winners of the ‘Homes of New Britannia’ House Decorating Contest! We had over 60 participants and some truly amazing home entries. As we toured each one, we smiled, laughed, and even cried (in a good way!) at some of the decorating themes. Well done by all!

As we announced, the winners were organized by themes. We had one change and that was the removal of the Steampunk theme, since no one decorated their house in this way. To replace it, we added another “All-around well decorated” winner, since we had so many entries for that category.

And the winners are…
 

Shop/service theme goes to: Bamboozle


Location: Owl’s Head (124.8, 72.0, 109.4)
 
Read more…


Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 35 Postmortem


Join us Thursday, November 10th at 3:00 PM Central (21:00 UTC) for our monthly Hangout of the Avatar! The team will be chatting about Release 35 and looking ahead to the Fall into Winter telethon later in the month!

As always, we will be giving out rare Lord British artifacts of immense power and glory, and answering your latest questions. For a chance to win an artifact, or to speak your voice on the latest game changes, be in Discord chat during the livestream. There will be multiple chances to win throughout the broadcast!

UPDATE! Livestream has concluded. You can now watch the archived recording on YouTube here:

Read more…


Community Spotlight: Beran’s Reach – Player Owned Town


This week’s community spotlight features the Player Owned Town, Beran’s Reach! Each week we tour towns and talk with guilds and other groups, all of which are open to be spotlighted on coming tours brought to you by Berek, your community wood elf druid.

Here is what I witnessed while I roamed this holiday themed town:

On a high peak dominating the environs of Central Sanctus, the walled Metropolis of Beran’s Reach takes a commanding position in the wilds north of Regalis. For many who live within the northern realms, ‘the Reach’ has become synonymous with sanctuary from the great dangers that lurk within the moors and forests, both men and beast alike. It is, perhaps, with no degree of relief that my caravan rounded corner to reveal the stark, imposing walls and turrets that mark the outskirts of the settlement-proper.

After being ushered in by grim-faced guards, I must admit that I was taken aback by the splendor of a bustling settlement, a far cry from from the wilderness beyond.


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2016 Yule Stockings


[A Dev+ Forum Post by Scott “Scottie” Jones]

Awhile back, when I was working on the fireplace sets, we had a discussion pertaining to the possibility of Yuletide Season stockings that could be hung from the mantels… I know this wasn’t the first time this subject had come up, but until that moment we hadn’t really had the chance to dig into the tech enough to attempt to create this kind of container for the sake of “hanging” from small surfaces and other deco objects… The folks here seemed to like the idea, and many of you seemed excited by it too, so guess what I had the chance to work on this week! Here’s the four initial stockings in Max… On the far right is the basic, rustic craft-able Yuletide stocking (at least for this year) based on the crochet stocking actually made for me by my mother long ago, and to its left you can see the Yule 2016 Large, Medium, and Small versions, which are all a part of the same visual “family” of stockings that will be available in the Add-On Store for this year’s Yule… I’ve already found a number of other “looks” that have inspired me for later types, and which I’ve set aside for years to come,…but these you see here will be the exclusive set for 2016!

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Update of the Avatar #201 – 2016.11.04: World Toilet Day, Yule Stockings, R35 Postmortem, Elad’s Lighthouse & Graff Island, Bay Lunaire POT, Lunar Rift Chronometer, and More!


Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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


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Happy Halloween from the Portalarium Team!

We hope all of you had a safe and enjoyable Halloween this week! We certainly did! One of the perks of having a full-time community manager onsite is being able to plan community events for the Portalarium team members! Thanks to Mathew “Berek” Anderson for coordinating our very first annual Portalarium Halloween Costume Contest! The contestants were voted on by the Portalarium team across four categories, and the winners were:

  • Scariest Costume: Skeleton (Starr “Darkstarr” Long)
  • Funniest Costume: Olaf aka The Best Dad Ever (Chris “Atos” Spears)
  • Best Themed Costume: Shegan aka The New Boss (Sarah “Serafina” Dworken)
  • Most Unique Costume: Ness (Dan “PlagueofLocusts” Brennan)

Read more…


Community Spotlight: Bay Lunaire – Player Owned Town


This week’s community spotlight features the Player Owned Town, Bay Lunaire!

As told from a visit to the town by your community wood elf druid, Berek, Bay Lunaire is nested off of the docks in Central Brittany. The location is perfect for quick access to trade in some of the busiest areas in Novia, and to Kingsport from Central Brittany. Once you are in the town, it’s a breeze to get to all of Brittany’s neighborhoods with a quick boat ride from the docks.

Here is what I witnessed while I roamed this beautiful town that shares so much of the life that nearby Brittany has to offer:

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Make A Difference: World Toilet Day & Charitable Giving Report


As part of Portalarium’s founding purpose to promote good will and make a positive difference in the world, we have partnered with members of our community to contribute directly to charities as well as support charitable giving. It started a year and a half ago, when Wrath Phoenix approached the SotA team on behalf of RizeUp Gaming to participate in their inaugural Water.org charity drive and telethon. This event served to remind us of our founding purpose and inspire us to create our first Make A Difference charity items.

Throughout the past eighteen months, we have continued to participate in other community-driven charity events, either through promotion or with Make A Difference charity items. We wish we could do more, as this speaks to the core of our principles and values. As time and funding permit, we intend to expand our community-based charity participation over the months and years ahead.

And to that end, our next effort, in collaboration with Water.org, is centered on World Toilet Day. The UN has declared November 19th as World Toilet Day, with the mission statement of: “The aim of World Toilet Day is to raise awareness about the people in the world who don’t have access to a toilet, despite the fact that it is a human right to have clean water and sanitation.

Water.org is a committed partner of World Toilet Day, as evident by their statement: “It’s time everyone everywhere has access to a toilet. Today 2.4 billion people don’t have one so they spend hours of their day searching for a safe place to go. Water.org gives people the tools they need to fund their own sanitation solutions because we believe it’s time for toilets for all.”

Water.org is celebrating #toilets4all the week of November 14th-19th. To help support the cause, we have created the Make A Difference Ornate Outhouse charity item! Not only is it a throne fit for royalty, but by purchasing this item, you are helping to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves.


Make a Difference: Charitable Giving Report

Beginning with that inaugural Water.org charity drive in collaboration with Rize Up Gaming in May 2015, here is the latest information on how the combined charitable efforts of Portalarium and the Shroud of the Avatar community have performed over the past eighteen months.

Make A Difference Store

Portalarium created digital, in-game charity items for Shroud of the Avatar as a channel through which our community of backers can contribute to causes they support. For each of these Make a Difference charity items purchased, Portalarium will donate up to 50% of its share of the purchase price to the designated charity (see each item for percent contribution). By purchasing these items you get to have fun with them in Shroud of the Avatar, as well as make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. To date, backers have enabled us to contribute an amazing $27,335 to the combined charities of Water.org, Autism Awareness (NAA & NAS), Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and various Blood Charities (see details below).

Thank you, Avatars, for being so virtuous!

Water.org

logo[1]To date, we have donated $12,389 to Water.org, from contributions by our generous backers through purchases of the 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.

Breast Cancer Research Foundation

SotA_Breast_Cancer_Package_thumbbcrf_logoStarting with an amazingly generous donation by Shooter Jennings of his recently released album, Countach (and related items), we have managed to donate an incredible $5,807 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) through community purchases of the Countach Wax Cylinders, Countach Pink Dye, Countach Album Cover, Countach Phonograph, and most recently the Juggle Pink Lights emote for Breast Cancer awareness month. BCRF is an organization that works to achieve prevention, and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime, by providing critical funding for innovative clinical and translational research at leading medical centers worldwide, and increasing public awareness about good breast health.

SotA_AutismAwareness_Puzzle_Tree_Cloak_wipAutism Awareness

In another collaborative effort involving RizeUp Gaming and Game4Autism, our generous community has raised $4,846 through purchases of the Puzzle Pattern Cloak, Puzzle Tree Cloak, and Puzzle Tree Make A Difference charity items. We split these donations equally between the following two organizations:

NationalAutismAssociation_logo

The National Autism Association, headquarted in Portsmouth, RI, whose mission statement is “…to respond to the most urgent needs of the autism community, providing real help and hope so that all affected can reach their full potential.” The National Autism Association is a parent-run 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Founded in 2003, NAA is a parent-run advocacy organization and the leading voice on urgent issues related to severe autism, regressive autism, autism safety, autism abuse, and crisis prevention.nas-logo

The National Autistic Society is the leading UK charity for people on the autism spectrum (including Asperger syndrome) and their families. They provide information, support and pioneering services, and campaign for a better world for people with autism.

Blood Charities

Through the sales of the Lord British and Darkstarr Blood Reliquary Bundles we have donated $4,293 to a host of blood related charities, including:SotA_BloodReliquary_thumb

  • Shriners Hospitals for Children – Northern California
  • Children’s Cancer & Blood Foundation
  • Marie Curie – Terminal Illness Support
  • The Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas
  • Doctors Without Borders


Charitable Support

In addition to our Make a Difference store, we periodically support other fundraising efforts, like Movember, Extra Life, and community-driven events.moustache-of-the-avatar

  • MovemberThe Movember Foundation’s mission: “The state of men’s health is in crisis. Men experience worse longer-term health than women and die on average six years earlier. Prostate cancer rates will double in the next 15 years. Testicular cancer rates have already doubled in the last 50. Three quarters of suicides are men. Poor mental health leads to half a million men taking their own life every year. That’s one every minute.Our fathers, partners, brothers and friends are facing this health crisis and it’s not being talked about. We can’t afford to stay silent.” Back in 2013 we created a Portalarium Movember team called Shroud of the Moustache and raised $1,680. We are doing it again with a new team called Moustache of the Avatar. Several of us will be growing moustaches (or hiking if we are Mo Sistas) in order to raise awareness about men’s health issues. Starr “Darkstarr” Long even shaved off his signature soul patch!
  • Extra LifeLast year our incredible community organized a 24 hour streamathon with a ton of events as part of Extra Life (an event that unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals). Community members including Browncoat Jayson, Amber Raine, the RizeUp Gaming crew, Lazarus Long, and Kazyn Phoenixfire all streamed the entire 24 hours and raised $832. Unfortunately due to the proximity of SotA Con and Release 35 we were unable to organize an event this year but we will be back for 2017!
  • rizeupgaming_team_logoRizeUp Gaming: Rize Up Gaming (www.twitch.tv/rizeupgaming) was founded in September 2012 with the intentions of curbing bullying, sexism, gender discrimination, and hate speech on all gaming platforms. Their goal is to promote fun gaming without negativity. Rize Up Gaming uses a staff of streamers to keep their channel running and to fundraise for many different charities throughout the year. As mentioned above, we collaborated with RizeUp Gaming for our first Make A Difference event, their inaugural Water.org Charity Drive. In addition to the Water.org and Autism Awareness charity drives, RizeUp Gaming has also collaborated with the Shroud of the Avatar community on the following charity drives (to name just a few):


Release 34 Lot Deed Raffle Winners


Earlier today we had the drawing for our second Lot Deed Raffle and awarded 675 lot deeds to lucky winners. There were two raffles, one for each lot type:

  • Place Anywhere Deeds: 75 Total
    • Row: 40
    • Village: 20
    • Town: 10
    • City: 5
  • Player Owned Town Deeds: 600 Total
    • Row: 320
    • Village: 160
    • Town: 80
    • City: 40

Raffle tickets grant the holder a chance to win deeds of any size (Row, Village, Town, or City). Raffles will be held monthly and we will have multiple winners for each lot size (numbers will vary each month). Place-Anywhere Deed raffle tickets are more expensive but will have fewer deeds in each raffle than POT raffle tickets, which are more affordable and will have many more deeds in each raffle. This means your chances to win a POT deed are much greater.

Below is a complete list of the winners for the Release 34 raffle. Winners can claim their deed(s) simply by logging into the game and claiming rewards at any bank.  A reminder that you may have received multiple deeds to claim if you received tickets for a guild or other group.

If you wish to review all of your account rewards outside of the game, you can do so by going to the Account menu on the main website and then selecting the ‘Special Rewards’ tab in the page menu.

Listed below are the winners:

Read more…


Release 35 Instructions


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[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 35 access for all backers at First Responder level and above begins this Thursday, October 27, at 10:30 AM US Central Daylight Time (15:30 UTC).

r35_instructions_banner

Path of Love Polish

With Release 35, we have continued polishing the Path of Love storyline. Ardoris continues to be our main focus with lots of fixes, polish, and additions to the city and the quests leading from it. In particular, the Tower of Shuttered Eye is no longer a side quest, and has been fully incorporated into the main Path of Love storyline. It has also been better balanced to match the players expected levels at that point in the story. While we did make progress on the region specific clothing for Perennial Coast, even getting new NPC faces for several characters including Min Liang Tan, the region clothing will not appear in game until Release 36.

Roving Encounters

When we first unveiled Shroud of the Avatar in our Kickstarter, we showed Roving Encounters on the Overworld with flying Dragons and rolling gypsy wagons. We have finally returned to that original vision! No longer are encounters on the Overworld map hidden as random surprises over which you have no control. Now, the encounters are actual creatures that move about, and that you can choose to either engage or avoid.

Food and Water

With Release 34, we did a major overhaul to the cooking system, and we are continuing that with more recipes with higher level effects. We have also added the ability to gather water, and planters now indicate whether the plants have been watered or not. Finally, we have added more plants to agriculture which, when combined with water gathering and more gathered ingredients, makes cooking a much more self-sufficient profession than the previous implementation in which it relied much more on purchased ingredients. Read more…