Updates

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Final Wipe and Lot Selection

UPDATE: JULY 12, 2016: Updated the group numbers to current backer numbers.

[A SotA Public Forum post by Starr Long]

Darkstarr

Greetings Avatars,

We are incredibly excited to announce that we have scheduled final lot selection and our final wipe, including all social data (names, friends, guilds), [UPDATE: 06/21/2016] for Release 32, July 28, 2016! After Release 32, we will no longer be wiping the game state. Your characters and your properties will be persistent from that date forward.

Please understand that final wipe is not “launch”. We will continue to be working to finish the game’s story content well past final wipe, while we remain in Early Access. Until then, the game is neither “launched” nor complete, but as mentioned below, the concept of “launch” may not even be applicable to this development model. Launch will be when we pull the game out of Early Access and we start marketing / public relation campaigns to pull in new customers. We have no plans to do those things in July. We know that this plan will generate a lot of questions and stir up plenty of emotions, but we firmly believe this is the best possible course of action for the project.

By Release 32, our goal is that the virtual world and economy will be fully functional and reasonably balanced. Additionally, the Love storyline will be polished and playable from beginning to end, with all characters and quests complete. The Truth and Courage storylines will also be completely playable from beginning to end, although not in as polished a state as Love. We are purposely holding the finale part of the storyline that ties the three threads together until the entire plot has been polished. This allows us to really focus on the new user experience and one storyline instead of spreading that effort out too thinly. ***Please note that the story is nonlinear and non-exclusive. It is designed to allow free movement between the three storylines and it is only until all three are complete that you move to the finale (this structure will be very familiar to Ultima players). So just because you finish the Love story, you are not excluded in any way from experiencing the other plots.

As part of all of this, we are also announcing the 2016 Spring and Summer Expiration Events.

Read more…


Release 26 Instructions

[A SotA Public Forum post by Starr Long]

Darkstarr

Greetings 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 26 access for all backers at First Responder level and above begins this Thursday, January 28, at 10:30 AM US Central Time (16:30 UTC).

We decided to start 2016 with a BANG by making Release 26 one of our biggest releases to date! The world expanded with five completely new scenes including new segments in the Truth and Courage storylines (along with polish across multiple scenes). We also made over 100 playability tweaks to combat to address responsiveness, playability, and balance. On top of that, we migrated to the new crafting architecture which unlocked a huge swathe of crafting changes and additions.

Yet again, I want to express a huge amount of gratitude to our Dev+ backers who tested all of the items below on the QA server and uncovered lots of bugs. They also provided editorial feedback on this post, so they are a big reason that this post actually matches what is in the game, and that it is easy to read.

While we are getting closer to launch, we are still in a constant state of change, and we do not yet have in-game systems to inform players of these changes, or to share ways to help them to explore new content and systems. This means we rely entirely on this message and the linked instructions and known issues to convey the current game state. We regularly have to answer questions or filter bug reports because some players elect not to read this valuable information. By taking a few moments to read through this information, a great deal of our time and efforts can be redirected to focus on new “unanswered” questions, and SotA_PlayerEventsBookaddressing critical issues impacting each release. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to review this post, and for all the truly valuable feedback you continue to provide.

Also, remember that while we are providing new content with each release, our community is working overtime to make new events for you to enjoy. So, be sure to check out a couple of the Community Events Calendars run by our community members (via in-game book or the player run websites Avatars Circle Community Events and Events of the Avatars calendar).

Without further ado, here are the R26 deliverables.

Read more…


Update of the Avatar #160 – 2016.01.22: The Making of Paladis Shardfall & Dysborg Ruins, Expired Reward Changes, Offline Content Poll, 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 Paladis Shardfall
  • The Making of Dysborg Ruins
  • Changes to Expired Patron, Navigator, and Developer Pledges
  • POLL: All Content Available in Offline Mode?
  • R25 End Of The World Party (Doc’s Cotton Pickin’ Party)
  • Fastest Decorator in the West
  • Bear Tavern Brawl R25
  • Fireworks 45-Piece Assortment 2
  • In-game Community Events
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recommended Projects to Back

The Making of Paladis Shardfall – Part 2

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

Hey guys, its SorcerousSteve once again, here to give you an update on the Paladis Shardfall!

SotA_Making_Paladis_1

Read more…


POLL: All Content Available in Offline Mode?

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Back in December, Starr Long (aka Darkstarr), posted a survey in the SotA Dev+ Forums about making all Add-On Store items and Pledge Rewards available to be earned or crafted in-game in Single Player Offline Mode. We believe this will greatly increase the quality and value of the basic game experience in single player offline mode.

There are currently 91% “Yes” votes out of the 580 responses from the Dev+ poll. Based on feedback in that thread, we feel it is important to poll our entire backer community. Please follow this link to the Public Forum Survey post and cast your vote.

Below is the full content of Starr’s public forum survey post:

POLL: All Content Available in Offline Mode?

Back in February 2015 I posted about some unique items related to Single Player Offline. Item #4 of that post stated the following:

  • Content: There are a few items that we are not going to sell in game in Online mode including the Castle and Keep sized lots. However we do plan to make those available in Offline mode along with a handful of other items yet to be finalized.

After reading about how negatively many backers (and external folks as well) view our Pledge structure and Add On Store we thought a powerful gesture would be to make ALL content available in Offline mode including ALL add on store items and pledge rewards. Players would still have to earn enough gold to purchase them or gather enough resources to make them in game, unless they purchased them which in that case they would start the game with them just like they do now.

Our only concern is that backers who did pay for the content might feel upset that content they believed exclusive was available to any player (even if only in offline mode).

Last month I started a poll in Dev+ to get some initial reaction from the group with the “most to lose”. That poll is currently standing at over 90% positive, so at the request of several Dev+ backers we have decided to expand the poll to ALL our backers (here). Thank you in advance for participating.

Notes:

  • Earned/Crafted: As mentioned above all these item will have to be crafted or purchased with gold. The bigger items like LotM house will only be affordable after many, many hours of play. You will NOT just get them all at the start, unless you purchased them. That is the purchase value in offline: you start with items everyone else has to earn.
  • Offline Firewalled: Offline mode has ZERO connectivity to online modes. Nothing can move between the two modes.
  • Online only items: Some items have functionality that is only useful in online mode (ex. Fyndoro’s Tablet, Noble Discourse Orb, etc.). In most cases these items will be reduced to non-functional decorations but in a few cases we will try to make an offline function.
  • Hacking: In Offline mode hackers will create mods that unlock all the content anyway

[VOTE HERE]


Update of the Avatar #159 – 2016.01.15: SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT, Dysborg Ruins, Paladis Shardfall, Grasslands Template, Telethon Rewards, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

  • SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: SotA Release Schedule Update
  • Dysborg Ruins
  • The Making of Paladis Shardfall
  • Kobold Architecture
  • Sojourner Tales Printing Press
  • Player Owned Towns: Grasslands Template
  • The Wondrous Winter Telethon of the Avatar!
  • Many Thanks For the Awesome Holiday Party!
  • Lunar New Year Replenishing Fireworks Boxes
  • In-game Community Events
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recommended Projects to Back

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: SotA Release Schedule Update

We are working diligently on detailing our schedule for 2016. We plan to provide you with an update as soon as next week (but definitely before the end of January). We are very excited because this schedule will include the date of our final wipe as well as the start days and times for final lot selection.

Read more…


Update of the Avatar #158 – 2016.01.08: Sanctus Spine, Winter Telethon, Backer Sponsored Party, Titan of Courage, Bowler Hat, Final Weekend of 10% Bonus, 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 Sanctus Spine
  • The Wondrous Winter Telethon of the Avatar!
  • Community Sponsored Portalarium Holiday Party
  • Grannus, The Titan of Courage
  • Release 26 Grand Tour Quest Reward: Bowler Hat
  • Spoon’s Silly Spectacles – the Treasure Hunt of the year 478
  • Final Weekend for 10% Holiday Bonus
  • In-game Community Events
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recommended Projects to Back

The Making of Sanctus Spine

SotA_SanctusSpine_1

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

Hey guys, once again this is SorcerousSteve chiming in and today I will be giving you a sneak peak at the upcoming Sanctus Spine, my first map of 2016! The Sanctus Spine is located on the mountainous border of where South Paladis meets North Paladis.

Read more…


The Wondrous Winter Telethon of the Avatar!

** EXTENDED **

[NOTE: The Telethon Funding Stretch Goal Rewards have been extended through Midnight CST January 12]

It has been a truly amazing and humbling Holiday Season! With Alpha Testing on the horizon, our amazing community has pushed us past the $8 million milestone! To celebrate, we are hosting an all-day, Wondrous Winter Telethon on Monday January 11 from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM Central Time (16:00 UTC to 04:00 UTC).

$28,000: Current Telethon Funds Raised
(Dev Team shots every $2500 $2000 increment)

As a special bonus, we are offering Telethon Funding Stretch Goal Rewards to any backer that pledges a minimum of $5 from the start of the telethon, until Midnight tonight, January 11 January 12 (Spending Store Credit to make $5 minimum purchase does not apply). The Telethon Funding Stretch Goal Rewards are:

  • Achieved!  $10,000 – /snow emote
  • Achieved!  $25,000 – Snowflake Cloak (increases length of /snow emote)
  • $50,000 – Ice Nightmare Mount (frozen coconuts with icy mist plus white horse head with icy, misting eyes)

Warning: Telethon video is Rated PG-13 for Alcoholic Content
(might get upgraded to Rated-R depending on rate of pledges)

 

Here is the schedule of events:

10:00 am CST: Welcome! Meet the Devs/Office Tour

11:00 am CST: R25 Post Mortem
You can pre-post your R25 Post Mortem questions right here in the comments section!**

12:30 am CST: ONBE and Royal Warrant awards

1:00 pm CST: Lunch with the Team! Tabletop Gaming Session & IRC Q&A/AMA session with the Devs!

2:30 pm CST: Deep Dive: Combat, Spells, Skills

4:00 pm CST: Deep Dive: Gear Crafting & Economy; Kickoff the Community Sponsored Portalarium Holiday Part (4pm thru 8pm CST)

5:00 pm CST: Deep Dive: Agriculture & Food

6:00 pm CST: Scenes and Story

7:30 pm CST: Deep Dive: Player Housing and Player Owned Towns

9:00 pm CST: Deep Dive: PVP & Guild Warfare

10:00 pm CST: Goodbyes and Thank Yous with everyone still standing!

And, because it would not be a proper Telethon of the Avatar without merriment and spirits, there will of course be shots. Past Telethons have taught us, however, that too much of a good thing can make the following workday…. well, unpleasant. :D  So participating Dev Team members will once again be taking 1 Shot/Sip for every $2500 $2000 of new money raised during the telethon!

The Wondrous Winter Telethon of the Avatar will include deep dives, lots of prize giveaways* (like coins, t-shirts, store credits, even pledges!), and even some surprises, so you don’t want to miss a moment of it!

* There will be some really awesome prizes awarded during the telethon, but you have to be present (and active) in the IRC chatroom to qualify for each drawing. 

**Please keep in mind that questions and feedback related to each segment will be given priority and really verbose questions may be skipped, as they can be a challenge to shorten and summarize live on the air. In brief… please keep your questions… brief. ;)


Update of the Avatar #157 – 2015.12.31: Happy New Year!, 24 Hours of Partying, Final 4 Days before Reward Expirations, Resolute, North Varisalla Foothills, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

  • Happy New Year!
  • Only 4 Days Remaining Until the Winter Reward & Price Expiration Deadline
  • Resolute
  • North Varisalla Foothills
  • The Making of The City of Aerie – Part 2
  • NPC Submissions Requested for Aerie and Resolute!
  • Dev+ Asset Packs Galore in December!
  • Brass Clockwork Raven
  • White Stone Castle Wall
  • Release 24-25 Christmas Decoration Contest Winners!
  • 24 Hours of New Year’s Parties!
  • New Years Day Costume Party In Obsidian Caverns
  • 4B’s Get In Shape Maze
  • In-game Community Events
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recommended Projects to Back

Happy_New_Year_2016

As the final hours of 2015 countdown for us here in Austin, Texas, the entire Shroud of the Avatar Development Team wishes you the happiest of New Year’s! All of you have made 2015 an amazing year for us, and we are excited for what the New Year holds for Shroud of the Avatar!

As a special thanks during this holiday season, we are gifting all our current backers, plus any new backers thru January 11, 2016, with the 45-piece Rocket Fireworks Assortment. If you haven’t already received it, you will find it in your inventory when next you log into the game. We hope you have as much fun with them as we have!

Read more…


Update of the Avatar #156 – 2015.12.18: Happy Holidays!, Play Release 25 Now, 10% Holiday Bonus, Q1-2016 Schedule, Backers Deco Portalarium, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

  • Happy Holidays!
  • Announcing the 10% Holiday Bonus!
  • Play Release 25 Now!
  • The FireLotus Release 25 Party – Christmas Edition!
  • R25 Patch Notes
  • Q1-2016 Schedule Update
  • SotA’s Dye System
  • SotA Backers Decorate Portalarium for the Holidays!
  • Wake Up New Britannia!!! – 12 Days of SotA
  • MMORPG.com Players’ Choice 2015 – Most Anticipated
  • 2015 Winter Holiday Bundles
  • 17 Day Countdown for Winter Reward & Price Expirations
  • In-game Community Events
  • This Week In the News
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recommended Projects to Back

Happy Holidays!

SotA_R25_FireLotus_Party1

The entire Shroud of the Avatar Development team wish you the Happiest of Holidays!

We were especially diligent to make sure Release 25 launched successfully in time for all of you to enjoy it during your holidays. Fireworks were activated in this Release, and we have to admit, they were more fun than we expected. Darkstarr and Chaox were providing the fireworks show during the Traditional FireLotus Release Party, as shown in the image above!

We are honored to have such an amazing community of backers, and will never be able to thank you enough for all you do! For your enjoyment this holiday season, we are gifting all our current backers, plus any new backers between now and January 11, 2016 (see below for the significance of this date), with the 45-piece Rocket Fireworks Assortment. You will find it in your inventory when next you log into the game. We hope you have as much fun with them as we did today!

[NOTE: Portalarium offices are closed from December 21 thru December 25 so there will be no Update of the Avatar next week. We will return the following week.]

Read more…


Release 25 Instructions

[A SotA Public Forum post by Starr Long]

Darkstarr

Greetings 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 25 access for all backers at First Responder level and above begins this Thursday, December 17, at 10:30 AM US Central Time (16:30 UTC).

As 2015 comes to a close with our final release of the year, we are making major strides forward and gaining more momentum every release. The Story continues to march across the map with multiple new scenes every release. Agriculture completes the final major missing component for Crafting.  SotA_Agriculture3Customizability increases with multiple dye options, and PVP expands to include Guild Warfare. We are also making steady progress with Localization thanks to our player translators. While there is still much work left to do on areas such as performance, service hardening, game balance, and a handful of missing features, we feel pleased with the progress we are making. Thank you for helping us not just progress, but progress the right way. Your feedback and guidance is helping us make the game we all want to play. So ring in the New Year by playing Release 25 and congratulate yourself (not us!) on a job well done!

Yet again, I want to express a huge amount of gratitude to our Dev+ backers who tested all of the items below on the QA server and uncovered lots of bugs. They also provided editorial feedback on this post, so they are a big reason that this post actually matches what is in the game, and that it is easy to read.

While we are getting closer to launch, we are still in a constant state of change, and we do not yet have in-game systems to inform players of these changes, or to share ways to help them to explore new content and systems. This means we rely entirely on this message, and the linked instructions and known issues to convey the current game state. We regularly have to answer questions or filter bug reports because some players elect not to read this valuable information. By taking a few moments to read through this information, a great deal of our time and efforts can be redirected to focus on new “unanswered” questions, and SotA_PlayerEventsBookaddressing critical issues impacting each release. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to review this post, and for all the truly valuable feedback you continue to provide.

Also, remember that while we are providing new content with each release, our community is working overtime to make new events for you to enjoy. So, be sure to check out a couple of the Community Events Calendars run by our community members (via in-game book or the player run websites Avatars Circle Community Events and Events of the Avatars calendar).

Without further ado, here are the R25 deliverables.

Read more…