Updates

Hangout of the Avatar ~ 1.30.14 ~ SotA Multiplayer

Please join us for our next Dev Hangout on Thursday, January 30th at 3pm CST. We’ll be chatting about the Multiplayer aspects of Shroud of the Avatar, led by Lord British himself. As always, I’ll have the exact link where you can watch 15 minutes prior to broadcast, and we will be featuring questions taken from our Dev+ backers, so if you are a Dev+ member, please head over to the Developer Digest to submit your questions for consideration.

For those of you who prefer written transcripts, Dame Lori has been kind enough to post a recap on the forums.  Enjoy!



Community Spotlight ~ SotAWiki.net

SotA wiki logo

crafting

 

This week’s Community Spotlight shines on SotAwiki.net.  This past weekend, many of you may have gotten familiar with this fantastic resource, as they have a growing library of crafting recipes, but I thought it would be fun to get to know SotaWiki founder Baron Violation a bit more as well!  Here is what he had to say during our interview. 

 

If you were an NPC in Shroud of the Avatar, how would describe yourself?

“The unnamed wondering guard! I would bring aid to those who go to adventure and become victims of thieves, murderers, and the like. I would be the one who protects the weak for the sake of doing what’s right. As any just player should I would take no credit for the work as it was the right thing to do not what I wanted to do. After a day’s work I would grumble from the exhaustion and be frustrated but my desire to help would overcome the feeling and each day and I would continue the work to protect and serve the next day.”  :)

What do you think sets your Fansite apart from the rest?

“My site is unique because I’m building the framework for the fans to make their own resource. Currently sotawiki has been visited by 31 countries and had contributions from over 15 players and we’re just at R2! We have wiki designers from three countries. My goal is to provide the most extensive library of SotA information and keep it free, without ads, and updated. Many people have a hard time facilitating the content but wiki sites in general have made this possible due to the contributions of the users.”

What are YOU most looking forward to in Shroud of the Avatar?

“Wow, what a hard question. There are many things that I am looking forward to and it’s hard to narrow it down to just one. If I had to pick the thing I felt was lacking from almost every other decent RPG that I’ve played over the last 10 years, I would say the ability to share my experience with my family. My wife, daughter, brother, and even my mother have all backed this game.  I look forward to being able to take my passion for my family and my passion for games and allowing them to mingle in a way that has never been possible due to the online content not being controllable. With the ability to filter online chat I am comfortable having my daughter play with me where I wouldn’t have been if there was simply “online only and everyone is mixed!”


Release 2 Access Extended an Extra Day

Thanks to all of you for the great feedback we’ve received on Release 2 since it launched Thursday morning. Based on that feedback, we’ve released 3 new versions during the weekend, and are now up to version 60. Outlined below are the Release 2 Patch Notes describing the various bug fixes and feature enhancements across all the platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux).

As a special thank you to all our backers, we’re extending the Early Access period for an extra day! So, if you haven’t had a chance to play yet, please log in, patch to the latest version 60, and let us know what you think.

If you’d like some crafting hints, head over to sotawiki.net and check out their growing list of crafting recipes.

Hurry and join us in playing Shroud of the Avatar while Release 2 access is open! If you have not backed the game yet, you will need to register and login on www.shroudoftheavatar.com, select the “Pledge” button in the right side-bar, and purchase a pledge at the $45 Adventurer level or above.

(click here for more complete instructions on downloading and playing Release 2)

 

Release 2 Patch Notes

v55

  • Several fixes were implemented to reduce memory usage.  This should help reduce random crashes and make the game playable for people on 32bit operating systems.
  • NPCs will bark less often so that they are less spammy.
  • Some NPC conversation text updates.
  • Top right icon that brought up a bug submission form will now redirect to the Release 2 bug forums instead.
  • Admin and whisper messages should now pop up your chat window when received if it was not visible already.
  • You should no longer see a naked male avatar briefly after making a new character.

v57

  • Added option to invert mouse look
  • Added a sheen to items placed on the crafting table to make them easier to see.
  • Fixed missing textures in Kingsport waterfront castle

v60

  • Improve right-click rotate camera controls.  Should be more consistent and fix players for whom it was too slow.
  • Fixes for a few exceptions that were occurring.
  • Fix for inventory icons being offset incorrectly at high window resolutions.
  • Fix for inventory icons not fading properly on bag close
  • Fix for an inventory list visual glitch.
  • Fixes for some plot loading issues.

Update of the Avatar #57 – 01/24/14: Play Release 2 Now, BotA Chapter 6, Founder Bow, Ankh of Virtue, Silver Serpent Necklace, Scissors of Prosperity, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

  • Come Play Release 2 Now!
  • Blade of the Avatar Novel: Chapter 6
  • The Spoony Interviews
  • Early Founder Royal Artisan Starter Bow
  • Immortal Adventurer Ankh of Virtue Necklace
  • Lord British’s Silver Serpent Necklace
  • Scissors of Prosperity

Come Play Release 2 Now!

SotA_Release2_

Release 2 successfully launched yesterday, January 23, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, logging in, and exploring the content! We need all your help with stress-testing the servers and testing the game systems, so please join us in playing Release 2.

In this release we’ve added the second town of Kingsport, a list inventory, increased character customization, recipe books, jumping and the very first stages of crafting. Crafting will initially focus on refining and production for smithing, tailoring and carpentry. There are more than 100 recipes with chests full of crafting resources spread throughout the land.

[Note: This early release is single player online only. Release 2 access will end on Saturday, January 25, at 10:00 PM Central Time]

Hurry and join us in playing Shroud of the Avatar while Release 2 access is open! If you have not backed the game yet, you will need to register and login on www.shroudoftheavatar.com, select the “Pledge” button in the right side-bar, and purchase a pledge at the $45 Adventurer level or above.

(click here for more complete instructions on downloading and playing Release 2)

Read more…



Release 2 Instructions

SotA_Release2

[Starr Long posted this on the forums today]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you to our loyal backers of Shroud of the Avatar. Release 2 access for all backers at First Responder / Adventurer level and above begins this Thursday, January 23, at 10:30 AM Central Time. Release 2 access will end on Saturday, January 25, at 10:00 PM Central Time. Starting today you can begin installing and patching (see instructions below), but login will not be enabled until Thursday morning.

We are happy to say that not only are we are going to deliver just about every single Release 2 item (except for Shopping) but that we also were able to put in some extras. Here are those deliverables again, along with some extra notes and the bonus deliverables in italics.

RELEASE 2: January 23 – January 25 2014

  • Crafting: We will be opening up crafting for testing with more than 100 recipes. Chests full of crafting resources will be provided. Crafting will initially focus on refining and production for smithing, tailoring, and carpentry.
  • Shopping: Shopkeepers will be open for business for selling and buying.
  • Town 2: An additional municipality (likely village sized) will be open for business! Entering the swirling blue portal in the ring of stones will take you from one town to the other. We chose Kingsport for Town 2.
  • List Inventory: For those who prefer spreadsheets to immersion. The inventory battle royale continues! Setting this option will change all containers into lists except for crafting tables (coming in R3).
  • Character Customization++: Characters from R1 will be wiped, but you will now have even more options when creating your character! Now there are even more ways to look unique, including: facial features, scaling, and more content (hairstyles, head shapes, skin tones, hair colors, etc.) We were also able to include helmets and offhand items (torch and shield).
  • Jumping: Tired of not being able to jump that fence? Well tire no more as we now have jumping. And not just any old jumping but player controlled height jumping. A quick tap on the spacebar barely lifts the player but holding down the spacebar allows the player to clear those pesky walls with a high jump. Long term jumping will use focus and will likely be affected by weight carried.
  • Run Speed: Many of you commented on the slow run speed so we increased it by 50%, which feels much more satisfying. We will continue to tune this and balance it with an upcoming Dash skill that uses Focus as well as the Sprint buff in the Light Armor School of combat.
  • Mac & Linux: OSX and Linux support is now working (with a few caveats). The game currently requires a two button mouse and while a trackpad technically works we are not fully supporting it yet. For Linux, Unity only officially supports Ubuntu so if you are running other versions it may not work.
  • Recipe Log: We had originally planned to put crafting in R2 without a recipe log but quickly discovered how amazingly not fun that was. Discovery is great but not having any record of that discovery is just punishing. So we got in a recipe book that will track your recipes.

So now that it is clear what you can expect we should also be as clear about what you should not expect:

Read more…



Community Spotlight ~ The Mad Hermit’s Shroud of the Avatar Video Guides

For this week’s Community Spotlight, I had the privilege of sitting down with The Mad Hermit.  Many of you may already know of him though his exceptional Shroud of the Avatar Home Walk-though series.

When asked what kind of NPC The Mad Hermit would be in New Britannia, his response was:

I would be hold up in a secret underground lab experimenting with magic and tesla coils attempting to create new hybrid technologies like:

  • ·         Electrically generated magic that could be used by non-magic-users
  • ·         Electrically rechargeable wands
  • ·         Magic amplification techniques using tesla coils

I would be a wealth of information but consumed by my research and understanding of how things work, so getting the information out of me might be hard. That’s the “madness” I guess.

Read more…


Update of the Avatar #56 – 01/17/14: $3 Million Milestone, Release 2 Countdown, BotA Chapter 5, Edelmann Cabana, Founder Weapons, Cooking Pot, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

  • Lord British Hosts Hangout to Celebrate $3 Million Milestone
  • 6 Day Countdown to Release 2 Launch!
  • Blade of the Avatar Novel: Chapter 5
  • The Spoony Interviews
  • Founder Edelmann Village Waterfront Cabana
  • Founder Melee Weapons
  • Cooking Pot of Prosperity
  • Village Lots Make A Comeback
  • 80 Days Remaining for Early Founder Pledge Prices

Lord British Hosts Hangout to Celebrate $3 Million Milestone

Shroud of the Avatar has crossed the $3M milestone thanks to your generous support! The team and I would like to express our deepest gratitude to all of our Backers for your belief in both our team and our vision for New Britannia!

To celebrate our $3 Million milestone, and the launch of Release 2, I’m hosting a late night Video Hangout next Thursday, January 23. We’ll post more details about the video hangout next week.

Your Humbled Servant
~Lord British

6 Day Countdown to Release 2 Launch!

We’re only 6 days away from the launch of Release 2 and the team is working feverishly to get it ready! We’re all looking forward to another great turnout from our backers, so please come check out the new features and content, and help us find bugs and provide design feedback! Stay tuned for a special update next Wednesday, January 22, providing all the details about Release 2.

Release 2 is only available to backers starting at the $45 Adventurer Pledge Tier (and $25 Early Founder First Responders), so if you want to play and haven’t backed the game yet, then please make sure you have registered on our website and made your pledge.

Read more…