Updates

LAUNCH IS HERE!
Your Journey in New Britannia Begins NOW


@209vaughn – “I backed two years ago and just came back. It’s terrific! RPG towns are a joy to explore.”Bayard – “The amazing experience the team has created, with limited resources, demonstrates their passion, commitment and professionalism. Thank you.”

@ArcanusGreywolf – “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for a moment like this. I missed my chance when UO launched. Thank you @RichardGarriott and the whole dev team and backers for this moment in time.”


Win a Game Key with Loot to Shroud of the Avatar!

The launch of Shroud of the Avatar is coming up on March 27 and we’re celebrating in a big way by giving away bundles of the game and in-game items at SXSW! Even those that can’t make it out to see us can participate in the fun!

Here’s what you need to know. There are two separate giveaways, one that starts now and ends on April 2 after SXSW and Launch. This is an All-Players Sweepstakes that anyone can sign up for. The second giveaway is exclusive for those who visit our booth at SXSW. Together these giveaways include a chance for you to win a free game key and some additional sweet in-game loot.

See below for all the details!

 

GIVEAWAY #1: All-Players Sweepstakes


To participate in this giveaway, all you need to do is have an account on the Meretz App. Users of the app will receive points that go toward one of the following prizes. Anyone can participate, though anyone at SXSW and completes the scavenger hunt portion will receive a bonus amount of entries toward the prizes below.

How to Get Entries:

  • Get 3,000 Meretz Points per day (worth 1 sweepstakes entry)
  • 10 bonus entries per Scavenger Hunt check-in at SXSW (details will be posted at our booth)
  • Keep an eye out for “Easter eggs” for extra bonus entries!
  • See the Meretz app for additional details

Digital Prizes:

  • Grand Prize: A Town Bundle of their choice (value: $1699)
  • 2nd Prize: A Village Tax Free Bundle of their choice (value: $574)
  • 3rd Prize: A 2-Story Row Bundle of their choice (value: $299)

The sweepstakes will conclude a couple of weeks after SXSW on April 2 with winners announced on that week’s Community Livestream.

Entries are confirmed by using the Meretz App, so be sure you are running the app when on the scavenger hunt or elsewhere! You can check your progress in the app.

NO DOLLAR VALUE PURCHASE NECESSARY. THIS IS A CHANCE-BASED CONTEST. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

 

GIVEAWAY #2: Daily Booth Giveaway

Visit the booth (#2516) each day to pick up a ticket for a chance to win a free game key! Participants must be present at 5:30pm CT back at the booth for the drawing. Winners are randomly selected with 5 entries given away each day. Tickets may be redeemed on other days while at SXSW, but can only be redeemed once.

 

For more information about our presence at SXSW, be sure to keep watch for future weekly update newsletters leading up to the event!


Avatar’s Update #270: The Companions of Truth, Love, and Courage

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

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

The Companions of Truth, Love, and Courage

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Starr “Darkstarr”]

In Release 30 we introduced the first companion, Fiona Fitzowen, who was the archetype of the principle of Love. Our intent has always been to follow her up with at least two other companions to represent the two other principles of Truth and Courage. It has also been our intent to create unique art for these pivotal characters.

We are excited that in Release 52 not only will we finally be adding the companions of Truth and Courage but we will also be giving these characters unique art! The companions support avatars in the Offline mode by accompanying them along their adventures. They comment on where the player goes during the main quest and will even talk to each other on occasion.

Companion of Courage: Conrad Dupre, Knight of Norgard.

  • Conrad’s lineage is that of a soldier’s soldier. He has fought under the banner of Valhold for his entire life, from his childhood as a squire to a dissolute noble to the years of struggle against the Kobolds (a race which he both respects and despises). In addition to his mastery of swords, shields, and heavy armor, he has a veteran’s knowledge of Life magic, as well – not a great deal, but enough to keep himself and those around him fighting when others would fall.
  • Most who know him respect him, for he has little tolerance for cowardice or fear. But if he has any failing he also has little of a knight’s respect for those under his care. Norgard is at war, and he will brook no weakness in its time of greatest peril. Conrad knows much of the martial arts, but unlike his impeccably forged sword Silverthorn, the heart of his courage still requires tempering.
  • Avatars will meet him early on in their journey through the Path of Courage, in the fortified garrison of Resolute.


Read more…


Community Livestream – Meet the Companions

In this week’s Community Livestream, we’re going to be presenting the new companions of Truth and Courage! Afterward, we will also be observing the new observatory…

In Release 30 we introduced the first companion, Fiona Fitzowen, who was the archetype of the principle of Love. Our intent has always been to follow her up with at least two other companions to represent the other principles of Truth and Courage.

We are excited that in Release 52 not only will we finally be adding the companions of Truth and Courage but we will also be giving these characters unique art! The companions support avatars in the Offline mode by accompanying them along their adventures. They comment on where the player goes during the main quest and will even talk to each other on occasion.

As always, we will be giving away some in-game prizes during the livestream, so be sure to join watch on Twitch this Friday at 4pm CT! Also join the community’s Discord chat to ask questions about what’s presented:

 


Community Ambassadors Wanted

Dear Avatars,

To prepare for the growth of the Community after the official launch, we are looking for passionate Avatars, longtime citizens of Novia, to be volunteer Ambassadors of Shroud of the Avatar. We need those who exemplify the value of Avatars in the way they interact with the Community and help welcoming, onboarding, and supporting newcomers in their native language.

We are excited to initiate this project that empowers our Community to have even more impact and influence on its own expansion and evolution!

SotA Ambassadors will have a multifunctional role, being representatives and also caretakers of the Sub-Communities of a specific language. Their mission is to welcome and onboard the outlanders who are new to the Community, in their native language, and maintain the respective language forum as a fun and friendly place. In order to do so, the Ambassadors will have some moderation permissions for the section of the respective language, on the Forum as well as on Discord.

If you are one of those Avatars who can call New Britannia their home, uphold the Community Guidelines in an exemplary way, and are willing to actively help the Community Management team with this mission, keep reading to find out more about this role!

Read more…


Avatar’s Update #269: Trophy Room Contest Winners and R51 Postmortem Results

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

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

Spring 2018 Items (cont.)

We continue to build Spring 2018 items and this week we made the Sacred Orb of Obliteration a decoration item and the 2018 Easter Basket.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Starr “Darkstarr”]

Greetings Avatars,

For Spring 2018 we are once again creating two rare items to celebrate, a lepus mask and easter basket. Rumors also abound concerning the return of the dreaded Arch Lapin!

Sacred Orb of Obliteration

2018 Easter Basket

Read more…


Community Spotlight – The Library of Spiritual Knowledge

By Therdan Redwauld: “The Library of Spiritual Knowledge in Diamond Fields was created to provide a place to showcase player created content. The tremendous work which individuals undertake in building actively useful resources, great fiction, and quality music, continues to amaze me. I really wanted to build something which did those efforts justice and provide a great source of game knowledge and entertainment to everyone who plays Shroud of the Avatar.

The library provides players a significant volume of material covering everything from guides to fiction to musical scores. I also wanted to provide a number of ways people can get involved in evolving and building out the library content, and also naturally profit from their efforts and contribution.

Read more…


Avatar’s Update #268: Play Release 51 Now!

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

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

Play Release 51 Now!

Release 51 successfully launched yesterday, February 22, 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 – Playing Release 51

In this week’s Community Livestream, we’re going to be checking out Release 51! Join us as we start with South Midmaer Way, which we haven’t shown yet on the livestream (last week’s topic changed). If we have time, then we’ll move on to revisit South Fetid Swamps and The Lost Vale, or see what players are up to in other scenes!

South Midmaer Way used to be the location of a thriving city with lovely canals on the shore of a large lake in an otherwise arid region. The city grew rich on trade as it sat astride the main road. The rulers of the city built tombs to themselves among the cliffs and hid their treasures in them, defended by traps of course! However, the lake dried up and the town was abandoned. Now opportunistic Satyrs have set up a bazaar in the ruins and Plunderers raid the tombs.

As always, we will be giving away some in-game prizes during the livestream, so be sure to join watch on Twitch this Friday at 4pm CT! Also join the community’s Discord chat to ask questions about what’s presented:

 


Release 51 Instructions

[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 51 access for all Early Access backers begins this Thursday, February 22, at 10:30 AM US Central Standard Time (15:30 UTC).

Release 51 is the second release in which we focused on the current iteration of our Top 10 Priorities for Launch (from Q1 2018 post). Once again we were able to address almost every single item on that list in some fashion. We made incredibly strong progress on performance, clarity of direction, new user experience polish, story polish, and UI polish. We also finished more physical goods, including the D&D notes. Meanwhile, we continued to make steady background progress on launch readiness (example: EU data compliance & server monitoring upgrades) and localization. We did all of this while also planning our launch activities around SXSW.

All of this was accomplished despite February being a shorter month and therefore Release 51 being a shorter release cycle with one less week of development! Read more…