Avatar’s Update #376: New Rustic Antique Shop (Town Home)! Latest News and Q&A Friday Livestream!

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

News Announcements

Community Updates

New Rustic Antique Shop (Town Home)!

For those players who’ve frequented Central Brittany, you might have noticed a peculiar antique shop nestled away not too far off from the bustling business of the harbor. This shop is reminiscent of a real-life store which was known as “Goudeau Antiques” and run by Cary Long, who had passed away many years ago. Cary Long was father to Starr Long, our beloved Darkstarr. Many releases ago, as a gesture to Starr, Richard Garriott tasked a world builder to design a version of the antique store and place it in Central Brittany.

Soon, this building will be available to all players! The Rustic Antique Shop (Town Home) will be added to the Crown Store and become available as a new town-sized home. The expansive interior will allow shop owners a considerable amount of elbow room to display their wares. Whether your character is a tailor, a blacksmith, a carpenter or simply a tradesman of resources and discovered treasures, this building will offer a great home to any would-be merchant within the world of New Britannia.

Latest News and Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, April 10th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris Spears a.k.a. Atos and other developer team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

To enter the prize drawings, type “April showers bring May flowers” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website add-on store. Please submit questions into Twitch Chat by inserting !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT!

New Store Items: Cloth & Leather Aether Aviator Helmets!

Soon to arrive on the Crown Store are two amazing helmets which allow the player to tune-in to our community in-game radio stations. Coming in both cloth and leather, these Aether Aviator Helmets will be available for purchase with Crowns! Both can be salvaged to receive Eternal Patterns. These patterns can then be utilized to apply the look of the Aviator helmet to another cloth or leather helmet. The cloth version is dyable.

Also soon to patch in is the Rustic Antique Shop (Town Home)! Other items which recently became available were the Tulips Flower Arrangement, the Pink Dye Pack and a Silver & Gold Lepus Mask!

  • Leather Aether Aviator Helmet
  • Cloth Aether Aviator Helmet (Dyable)
  • Rustic Antique Shop (Town Home)
  • Tulips Flower Arrangement
  • Pink Dye Pack (Breast Cancer Awareness Charity Item)
  • Silver & Gold Lepus Mask (Dyable)

Springtime Vault Round 2!

The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, April 23rd at 10:30 AM CST. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc.

  • Leaf Spear
  • Leaf Shield
  • Large Spring Themed Fountain with Floating Candles
  • Thorn Bow
  • Flower Crown
  • Giant Dragonfly Pet
  • Thorn Sword
  • Elven Keep Village Home
  • /Flowers Emote

Mistrendur: Land Rush Completion & Update!

By royal decree, the Mistrendur land rush data intake has concluded! Players made reservations to add or move towns to Mistrendur some time ago, and we just spent approximately 21 days collecting location selection preferences from voucher holders. The event went very smoothly — thank you! Sannio is hard at work processing all these new towns and town relocations. These changes will patch bit-by-bit into the game as the master world builder completes his work.

The community manager (Elgarion) will continue to collect location selections from any stragglers possessing unused Episode 2 Vouchers. The official announcement thread has been modified slightly to provide information to these stragglers, but feel free to contact Elgarion via forum conversation, and he’ll walk you through the whole process individually.

The Mistrendur continent is just one exciting new feature arriving this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in Shroud of the Avatar’s 2020 Vision!

Double Experience Points Continue!

Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (XP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Hourly XP attenuation limits have also increased. Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia!

April Login Reward: Bunny Ears!

Just in time for the return of the notorious Arch Lapin, a new springtime wearable becomes available! Be sure to log in sometime between April 1st and 30th to receive this special and festive Bunny Ears headpiece! WARNING: The Bunny Ears headpiece does not cause the Arch Lapin to befriend you nor does it provide bonuses to hearing. Enjoy!

Release 76 Reward Program Exclusive Login Reward Items: Springtime Theme!

The hillsides are abloom, bunnies abound, and evidently ladybugs are also around! Rewards Program exclusive login reward items for Release 76 are springtime themed! Reward Program members will receive these exclusive items immediately upon logging in during Release 76!

  • Giant Bunny Companion
  • Ladybug Backpack
  • Bunny Slippers



NOTE: You must login during the release to receive each release’s exclusive rewards.

The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive exclusive monthly reward items!

For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:

    • 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month
    • Exclusive Monthly Login Reward Items (~ 3 per month)
    • Exclusive Title every 3 months
      • 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith
      • 6 Months: Keeper of the Word
      • 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow
      • 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame
      • 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath
      • 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge
    • Pick any Dye 12 Pack every 6 months
    • Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including:
      • Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity
      • Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance
      • Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills
      • Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills
      • Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage
      • Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills

Packaging Items for Trade in Player Test Environment (QA)!

Just arriving to the Player Test Environment (QA) server is a very useful new feature with which allows players to trade formerly no-trade Heritage items by packaging them for trade. Simply right-click the item, then select “Package Item for Trade” which will spawn an option window requesting a Crowns payment for the packaging. Once packaged, the item can be freely traded to another player, who can then unpackage it for use simply by double-clicking upon the item.

Allowing for the trade of formerly no-trade Heritage items is just one of many useful new features to arrive this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in the Shroud of the Avatar 2020 Vision!

Streaming the Player Test Environment (QA) Now Permitted!

Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar are now welcome to stream gameplay of their Player Test Environment (QA) experiences! We hope this new option will inspire increased new feature testing before these features go to the live server. When streaming from QA, please be sure to notify your audience that you are testing new and unfinalized features on the test server.

Are You a Livestreamer?


Soon, the Streaming Reward Program will be returning. As the details are getting reworked, we’ll reveal more information. Traditional streaming rewards included an exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Streaming Program! Expect the camera reward to return! More goodies will come to your way as the program fully develops. Thank you for streaming Shroud of the Avatar!

Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles

As one of the biggest and earliest supporters of Episode 2 you will be granted the largest lot deed in the land (Castle), the title Lord (or Lady) of the Isle, a tour of Lord British’s property, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold!

Complete List of Rewards:

  • Lord of the Isle Place Anywhere Castle Lot Deed: Tax Free Forever (when placed in a POT) and Tax Free for 1 Year (when placed outside of a POT). Placeable on water as well as land!
  • Title: Lord of the Isle or Lady of the Isle
  • Unique Lord of the Isle Home (pictured above)
  • NEW – Town Size Upgrade (if a town is not owned by the LOTI supporter, they may gift this size upgrade to another town owner. Maximum possible town sizes will be taken into account, but the Megalopolis size just became available!)
  • Choice of 1 House currently available in the store
  • Castle Basement currently available in the store of your choice
  • Castle Wall Set currently available in the store of your choice (with enough for Castle Lot)
  • Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room
  • 140,000 Crowns
  • 1000 Bank Slots
  • Pick 12 Prosperity Tools
  • 2 Unique in-game items (to be revealed later)
  • Early Access to Episode 2
  • Episode 1 Box and map signed by the team
  • 1 hour one-on-one with Chris for design discussion (via video-conference)
  • One real silver ring crafted personally by Lord British: Numbered 1 – 8
  • In-game version of the Lord British ring: Numbered 1 – 8 (including a place-able decoration version)
  • Tour of Lord British’s property
  • Fine dinner and drinks with Lord British, Darkstarr, & Atos at a location TBD in Austin or NYC.

NOTE: Digital items that are currently available will begin delivery as soon as Release 62 (Jan 31, 2019). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD.

NOTE: Travel costs NOT covered by Catnip Games for Tour & Dinner.

Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams (YouTube)

Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on our TWO Twitch Channels: twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar and twitch.tv/communityoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels on follow and get the latest information right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam). Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!!




Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at our other social media venues:

Upcoming Events Calendar

Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums:

2020 Events
Apr 30 – Release 77
May 28 – Release 78
June 25 – Release 79
July 30 – Release 80
Aug 27 – Release 81

Meretz: Win an Elven 3-Story w/Dual Cabanas Town Water Home (No Trade)

Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy!

Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away an Elven 3-Story w/Dual Cabanas Town Water Home (No Trade) to a lucky winner! AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes.

What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY!

Community Event: Fish Finder Contest

[Forum Post by Phamyns]
​
The Fish Finder Contest is 5 weekends of fishing splendor in 5 different towns and will change towns every Saturday. Anglers! Ready your poles! Ready your bait! Fish like you’ve never fished before!

Location: Crossroads
Date : April 11, 2020
Start Time : Noon CST
Duration : 8 Hours
Water Type : Fresh
Prizes: 1st 150,000 Gold, 2nd 100,000 Gold, 3rd 75,000 Gold, 4th 50,000 Gold, 5th 25,000 Gold

Rules : Each contestant will turn in one fish, the largest fish they caught during the timeframe of the contest.

At the end of the 8 hours, 5 winners will be awarded based off of the size of the fish they chose to submit. Once a fish is submitted the contestant is done for that day. Each contestant must provide a single fish entry Phamyns in game via trade window or in-game mail by Noon CST on Monday. For more information, please visit this forum post by Phamyns.

Community Event: Mad Splatter Tea Party

[Forum Post by Lily Byrd]

The Mad Splatter Tea Party takes place every 3rd or 4th Sunday of the month, which is a tea party in my back garden at my home in Jade Valley. There are drinks and eats, there is sometimes music, there are often party games with prizes, and sometimes we just sit and talk about life in Novia. Not only are you welcome to join us but I would like to find out how to have this added to the community calendar here in the forums.

Location: Lily Byrd’s Cottage and tea garden is south of the Hall of Inquiry and Learning.
Time: 3pm CST, April 19th (Usually every 3rd or 4th Sunday of the month)
Attire: This is a role playing event tea party come as your avatar

We play games, we eat cake and drink…various teas and drinks… There are goofy prizes for winning games if we play them. See you there, Lily Byrd.

Community Event: Podcasts & Poetry on Virtue Radio

[Forum Post by Asclepius]

Attention Avatars! The Shroud of the Avatar community is INCREDIBLY creative, and over the last five years, many community members have composed short stories, poems, and other creative works. Asclepius, along with a number of other narrators have had the privilege of rendering them into audio form. There is a huge vault of podcasts on the Caverns site with well over 200 amazing creative contributions.

So after fiddling with the broadcast software, Asclepius now offers to share them with you. This is planned to be a regular WEEKLY segment, about an hour in duration. Listen in and you will hear a curated selection of short stories and poems, interspersed with some great community music.

When: Wednesday Evenings at 7 PM CST
How to Listen: There are two methods to tune in to Virtue Radio

  • Utilize your in-game Aether Vibration Devices for Avatar’s/Virtue Radio (radios, clockwork pets, clockwork helms, etc.)
  • Simply point your browser to Avatar’s/Virtue Radio: https://zcu.io/jXP8

For more information about these reoccurring broadcasts on Avatar’s/Virtue Radio, please contact Asclepius on his forum post about this topic.

Project to Support – Jar Wars


While you are delving into Virtual Reality (VR), be sure check out this exciting and hilarious new game, Jar Wars! Our very own Darkstarr has been busy on some side projects, one of which is Jar Wars, a slapstick multiplayer game made just for VR enthusiasts. Battle your friends with wacky weapons and intriguing gadgets for total domination of the Moon! Available for free on Steam!

Project to Support – Rodasurf

Darkstarr and the Rodasurf team once again dazzle us with another interview which aired on Spectrum News! The RodaSurf board is an accessory to the Onewheel XR device. Simply snap and lock the Onewheel into RodaSurf’s latching system, and you’ll be surfing the streets before you know it! For the full article PLUS a fantastic video, be sure to head straight over to the Spectrum News Website and see our beloved Lord of Chaos show off his latest venture!

Project to Support – Dragon Fight

Darkstarr has also been hard at work with the team for Dragon Fight VR which recently went live on Steam! Dragon Fight VR is an internal experiment to capture the “essence” of a dragon fight, the classic penultimate experience of every fantasy story. We wanted to create a short visceral, realistic experience stripped of user interface, lobbies, scores, levels, and other visual intrusions that might distract. There were some key elements of fighting a dragon that we wanted to capture and we felt VR was uniquely qualified to convey:

  • Face to face with a large scale hostile creature trying to kill you
  • Using a sword and a shield
  • Fire!
  • Nowhere to run!

This started out as an internal experiment to learn some things about VR’s capabilities, be reductionist in our designs, etc. We felt that the experiment was successful enough to release as a free experience to share. Enjoy! Available for free on Steam!

Project to Support – Crowfall

Be part of shaping the next great MMO by becoming a Crowfall Backer! Crowfall is the first and only online Throne War game. You can win. Join intense PvP battles that demand strategy, survival and a fierce competitive spirit. Reap the spoils of war as an Eternal Champion!

Claim virtual territory on behalf of your guild or faction. Capture mines, mills, and quarries to secure resources, build castles, and besiege your neighbors. Scavenge artifacts and relics from the Dying Worlds and install them in your temples to grant blessings to your vassals. Capture lost spirits to do your bidding — or bind them into your weapons to infuse them with sorcerous power!

Project to Support – Avatar Express

[Forum post by Vladamir Begemot]

I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site.

If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening.

You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no committment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like.

Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immidiate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game.

It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts!

So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us!

Resources – Players Helping Players

SotA_NewPlayerWelcome_Forum

The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website.

Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community.