Ravalox' Dev Work Blog

A long time ago, I started a blog here with the best of intentions… and then reality happened. Development got busy, responsibilities piled up, and that blog quietly faded into the background.

So rather than trying to resurrect something half-finished, I’m starting fresh for 2026.

My goal with this new blog is simple: to share what I’m working on, what I’m planning, and occasionally what I’m wrestling with behind the scenes. Some posts will be technical, some creative, some operational, and some will just be updates on the day-to-day realities of keeping a live game moving forward.

For those who don’t know me, I joined the team several years ago, and I wrote an introductory post back in 2020 about six months after coming on board. A lot has changed since then.

Today, I serve as the Lead Developer for Shroud of the Avatar, and I wear a lot of hats — including Producer, Creative Director, and Operations Manager. I’m also still hands-on with 3D modeling, programming, and tool development. Like everyone on the team, my role overlaps constantly with others: itemization, fixing bugs, content creation, and problem solving all tend to blur together in a very small but passionate studio.

I’m going to try to keep each post focused on a single topic, both to keep things readable and to make it easier to follow along. No promises on a strict schedule — game development rarely cooperates with calendars — but I’ll update this thread whenever there’s something worth sharing.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to the new chapter.

 

UltraRares Update

The concept of the UltraRare was introduced during Shroud of the Avatar’s 10th Anniversary. It was created specifically to distinguish truly limited items from the muddier definition of “rares” in the game’s earlier history and from policies used by previous development teams.

UltraRare items are offered only during the specific event in which they debut. Once that event ends, no additional copies will ever be sold, granted, or otherwise distributed. Players may, of course, trade UltraRares among themselves, but the total number in circulation will never increase.

This restriction is absolute:

• UltraRares will never be re-released
  
  
• They will never appear in future store offerings
  
  
• They will never be used as prizes or giveaways
  
  
• They will never be recolored or reused in any form

The only exception is that an UltraRare may appear in the future as part of permanent world-building deco, or mobs, baked directly into the game world and not obtainable or tamable by players.

No requests, wishlists, or suggestions for re-releasing UltraRares will be entertained. This is a permanent policy.

Each UltraRare item includes a clearly marked in-game description (displayed in aqua blue) stating:

“This item was offered as a bonus with the purchase of a qualifying COTO pack, December 2025. There is a finite number in game. This item will never be offered again in any way.”

Internally, each UltraRare is also tagged with a developer-only note:

RESTRICTED ITEM: Bonus item for qualifying COTO Pack.
Do NOT place in store or distribute.

Additionally, there is a dedicated Restricted Items ReadMe file in the project source that applies to all UltraRare assets (including prefabs, materials, textures, and FBX files). These items were created under special rules, with an explicit promise to the playerbase that they will never be sold, granted, or reused in any capacity. This policy is official and non-negotiable.

Released UltraRares to Date:

• 10th Anniversary Cloak (December of 2023)

• Darkstarr Metronome (2024)
  
  
• Lord British Brutal Battle-Axe
  
  
• Medic’s Fishing Hat
  
  
• Medic’s Fishing Pole
  
  
• Baroque Fountain
  
  
• Baroque Table Clock
  
  
• Chaos Sword
  
  
• Chaos Shield
  
  
• Free-Standing Principles Banner
  
  
• Free-Standing Chaos Banner
  
  
• Principles Wall Flag
  
  
• Chaos Wall Flag
  
  
• Haunted Undead Jackalope Doll
  
  
• Haunted Voodoo Doll
  
  
• Haunted Nailhead Doll
  
  
  
  

We would very much like to create a permanent in-game location where these items can be displayed and appreciated. We are currently exploring possible locations in Hometown to support this.

Haunted UltraRare Doll Delivery Delay

The most recent UltraRares were originally planned for release just prior to Halloween. Those items were completed, but ultimately held back.

During development, I had the idea to create the haunted dolls. While researching reference material, I discovered a doll cabinet design that inspired what eventually became the Doll Cabinets. I initially believed the existing fish tank technology could be reused for this purpose, but it became clear that the underlying systems were not compatible with what the cabinets needed to do.

The resulting delay is entirely my responsibility.

In hindsight, the dolls should have been released as soon as they were ready, with the cabinets following later. However, we made the decision to hold the dolls back to avoid the perception that the cabinets would never arrive. Between development time, illness, and the holidays, delivery slipped further than intended.

The good news is that both the dolls and the cabinets are now complete and have been added to the game in the most recent patch.

Please note: the Doll Cabinets are not UltraRares and will be added to the Crown Store shortly. Additional cabinet features are also planned.

Looking Forward

The next iteration of UltraRares has already been completed and is ready for delivery. We will announce that event with the next release.

We do want to continue offering rare items — but not at the scale used during the Portalarium era. While funding remains critical, offering large numbers of rares every month through telethons was not sustainable and significantly limited what the development team could produce overall.

Anything intended to be a true rare going forward will fall under the UltraRare banner.

I am also working on plans for additional UltraRare items to be offered through other methods. Once those systems are finalized, I’ll share more details — and I’ll likely talk through some of this during upcoming livestreams as well.

 

The Vault (Crown Store Category)

The Vault was created in 2019 as a way to make items from past telethons available again. The Vault category inventory was expanded further during the period when Elgarion was maintaining the Crown Store.

How does The Vault work? Every 7 (real world) days, 9 items are selected from the total 246 items in the Crown Store inventory with the Vault tag to be made available under the "From The Vault" Category.

Items sold through The Vault are marked with a “Vault Edition” tag at the end of the item's display name. While having the different name technically preserves the rarity of the original items (which do not carry that designation), there are no other visual differences in the game world.

When the project transitioned to the current development team, we stopped adding new items to The Vault.

Speaking personally, as someone who has invested a great deal of time, money, and passion into Shroud of the Avatar; I believe The Vault should never have been implemented. That said, I do understand the context in which the decision was made. At the time, Lord Subtleton (SotA Server Developer) introduced the vault concept alongside account-bound (“no-trade”) heritage items, this was during the period when the game was facing significant challenges during and following Portalarium’s exit.

When I joined the team in October 2019, the topic of eliminating the “Heritage” store items was revisited frequently. The recurring discussion in our weekly in-person team meetings, often with strong opinions on both sides, centered around whether those restrictions should continue to exist or not. It wasn’t until much later that the newer members of the team were able to push through the removal of the no-trade requirement.

With all of that history in mind, The Vault’s days are numbered.

I plan to formally raise this topic again at our next team meeting. Once we have a clear and responsible plan in place, I’ll share more details.