Category Archives: Update of the Avatar

Update of the Avatar #188 – 2016.08.05: Estgard Remake, Land Rush Update, Community Trailer Contest, Star Citizen Cross-Promo, and More!

August 5, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Estgard Remake

Estgard is another cloned scene using one of our PRT / POT templates based off of the Forest 01 base template (aka PaxLair). It is getting rebuilt this release and will go live with Release 33. Note that when we un-clone these scenes we do NOT change lot placements. We only make cosmetic changes of building styles, terrain, and foliage. In the case of Estgard, it is getting a plot specific perimeter wall added along with a host of other visual changes. Estgard is on the island of Norgard and is part of the Path of Courage.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Richard “RrMatey” Matey]

With Estgard, my goal was to tie it closer to the aesthetics of Valhold.

Take a gander

Update of the Avatar #187 – 2016.07.29: World Start – Play Release 32 Now!, World Starting Backer Gift, Telethon Results, and More!

July 29, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

World Start – Play Release 32 Now!

Release 32 successfully launched yesterday, July 28, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in for the Final Wipe and Lot Selection! Lords of the Manor are still claiming today and Dukes will begin claiming this weekend.

Besides Lot Selection, there’s lots of new content to explore, including:

New scenes including Brittany Estates, Spite and Xenos
New User Experience Polish including a reworked Isle of Storms
In-Game purchasable Player Vendors
Over 40 New Crafting Recipes
New NPC Behaviors including Theft Detection and Virtue Reactions
Economic and Combat Balance Adjustments

…and much more

Check out the Release 32 Instructions update for detailed information about all the new content.

Update of the Avatar #186 – 2016.07.22: Xenos Reborn, More Brittany Housing, Renovating Spite, SotA Makes 2016 RPG List, New Bundle Store, and More!

July 22, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Xenos Reborn

Xenos (like Spite) started as another cloned scene using one of our PRT / POT templates based off of the Forest 01 base template (aka PaxLair). It is getting a complete rebuild from scratch this release and will go live with Release 32. Note that scenes that we un-clone after the Final Wipe will NOT get this level of rework, and building placements and lot placements in those towns will remain unchanged; only cosmetic changes of building styles, terrain, and foliage will be made.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Richard “RrMatey” Matey]

Hi guys,

Wanted to give you guys a quick update on Xenos. This area is important because this is where you need to hitch a ride to Artifice. But to get on board, you need to win the lottery first. So good luck!

Update of the Avatar #185 – 2016.07.15: Summer Telethon, Massively’s Perfect 10 List, Re-Making Spite, Lot Selection Groups, and More!

July 15, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Massively OP Picks Shroud as “Most Exciting Developments”

In an article posted yesterday entitled “Perfect Ten: The Most Exciting MMO Developments Yet To Come in 2016”, Justin Olivetti over at Massively Overpowered picked Shroud of the Avatar’s Release 32 as the second most Exciting Developments of 2016! Only World of Warcraft’s Legion expansion managed to edge us out of the #1 spot!

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

2. Shroud of the Avatar’s persistent state

No, Shroud of the Avatar is not launching (yet it kind of is). When Release 32 arrives at the end of July, the game will perform its final wipe before going into a persistent state. Call it a persistent alpha, a soft launch, or what have you, but the fact of the matter is that adventurers will be able to start playing for keeps as the world continues to be built around them.

Update of the Avatar #184 – 2016.07.08: R31 Postmortem, Lord British & Darkstarr Blood Reliquaries, Spite, Pipes, and More!

July 8, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 31 Postmortem

Berek certainly had his hands full with his second Hangout of the Avatar this week. We had warned everyone that things might get bloody, but no one was prepared for what happened. While we did do the usual answering of questions and handing out of prizes, we also created art with the blood of Darkstarr and Lord British live on camera! Lord British seemed to handle the blood-letting much better than Darkstarr however…

Update of the Avatar #183 – 2016.07.01: Play R31 Now!, R31 Postmortem Invite, Q3-2016 Schedule, New Elven Armor, Brittany Estates, and More!

July 1, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Play Release 31 Now!

Release 31 successfully launched yesterday, June 30, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, logging in, and checking out the new changes! There’s lots of new content to explore, including:

New scenes including Brittany Alleys and Brittany Wharfs
New User Experience Polish including a completely reworked Solace Bridge
“New You” in-game Character Customization
Gems unlocking specific enchantments on weapons
Salvage returning components at high skill levels
Revamped Housing Permissions system
New Camera Effects including Depth of Field and Sharpness Filter
…and much more

Check out the Release 31 Instructions update for detailed information about all the new content.

Update of the Avatar #182 – 2016.06.24: 15% Summer Bonus!, New Solace Bridge, Brittany Estates & Wharfs, Polished Elven Armor & Robes, SotA Con 2016, and More!

June 24, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Announcing the 15% Summer Bonus!

If you were thinking of purchasing (or upgrading) a pledge or Player Owned Town before they expire, then now’s a great time to do it! Between now and the Summer 2016 Expiration Event: Part 2 (see below), we are offering a 15% Bonus on all purchases! Here are the details:

For all new purchases (including pledges, pledge upgrades, add-on items, player owned towns, player owned town upgrades, Make a Difference items, and service vouchers) between 12:00 am CDT June 24, 2016 and Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC) August 22, 2016, we will add an additional 15% bonus to your Store Credit! You can use your Store Credit toward additional purchases (which includes pledges, pledge upgrades, add-on items, player owned towns, and player owned town upgrades).

[NOTE: The 15% bonus is calculated every day at 1:00 pm CDT for any purchases within the previous 24 hours and added to your Store Credit account; Store Credit cannot be applied toward the purchase of Service Vouchers or Make a Difference items]

You can use the 15% Bonus to save on your next purchase! For example, if you have the $45 Adventurer pledge and really want to upgrade to the $90 Royal Artisan pledge, you would normally pay the extra $45 for the upgrade. But using the 15% bonus you can immediately save $5. To do so, you would first purchase $40 worth of Store Credit Gift Coupons (via PayPal, Amazon, Bitcoin, or credit card; excluding existing Store Credit) then use the “Convert to Credits” option on your account page to transform the Store Credit Gift Coupons into Store Credit. Within 24 hours an additional $6 bonus ($40 x 15%) would be applied to your Store Credit account, bringing it up to $46. You would then use $45 of your Store Credit to upgrade to the $90 Royal Artisan pledge.

Update of the Avatar #181 – 2016.06.17: Brittany Estates, Multiple Sclerosis Charity Drive, Pledge States, Sword of Midras Audio Sample, and More!

June 17, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

The Making of Brittany Estates

NOTE: Brittany Estates is primarily comprised of City sized lots and is scheduled to go live in Release 32.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Richard “RrMatey” Matey]

Hey guys back again to keep you posted on the progress of another Brittany neighborhood. Brittany Estates is a gated community with lovely scenery and magnificent gardens. A great place to settle down and find that house or castle of your dreams.

Update of the Avatar #180 – 2016.06.10: Pre-Order Sword of Midras Novel, HoBLotH III Recap, Phoenix Republic’s Royal Warrant, Confluence Chamber, Xounts SotA Special, and More!

June 10, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Pre-Order Now: The Sword of Midras SotA Novel for Hardcover, Kindle, Nook and Audiobook

The Sword of Midras, by Tracy Hickman and Richard Garriott, is a revised and expanded version of the Blade of the Avatar novel (originally included in pledge rewards through May 31, 2015). The expanded The Sword of Midras includes four additional chapters not seen in the pledge reward version of Blade of the Avatar, extending and elaborating on key elements of the story.

The release date is June 21, 2016 by Tor Books. The Hardcover, Kindle, and Nook, versions are available for pre-order now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Release date for the unabridged audiobook version is July 12, 2016 with pre-orders available now at Audible.com.

Update of the Avatar #179 – 2016.06.03: R30 Postmortem, Brittany Wharfs, Unity Onsite, Gold Crowns Clarifications, Viking Un-Bundles, and More!

June 3, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 30 Postmortem

Our first Postmortem with our new Community Manager, Berek, at the helm went great! Richard, Starr, Chris, Scott, Gina, and Matt chatted about Release 30 and provided a sneak peek at Release 31. A greadt deal of time was spent on the durability changes and the Gold Crowns of the Obsidians, and Berek fielded lots of questions and feedback from the original post and live in the chat-room; including the new Discord chat server! We gave out lots of prizes including store credits, an ISS challenge coin from Richard’s trip to space, 2 Shroud of the Avatar T-shirts, and even some new Viking items! Darkstarr even modeled his garb for the HOBLOTH 3 event going on down the road at Castleton. Chris then followed up with an AMA in Discord, where he answered a ton of questions that were later posted to the forums here.

And a good time with the community and great feedback were not the only things the team took away from the hangout. One of the things this Post Mortem helped us realize was that many of the questions posted were repeated requests for information about when certain features are going to be coming online. We noted that, though many of those questions could be answered by reading the Final Wipe & Lot Selection post, the information was not as easily accessible as it could be. So, we pulled the basic Road Map out of that post, updated it, and made it it’s own post.