Release 50 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 50 access for all Early Access backers begins this Thursday, January 25, at 10:30 AM US Central Standard Time (15:30 UTC).

Release 50 is the first release in which we focused on the current iteration of our Top 10 Priorities for Launch (from Q1 2018 post). I am so proud of this team, which was able to address almost every single item on that list in some fashion. We made incredibly strong progress on performance, improved reward cycles, clearer direction, new user polish, story polish, and UI polish. We also have finished key elements of our physical goods like the cloth map and are getting final bids for production. Meanwhile we made 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.

I know that I say this every time, but this is definitely one of the largest and most ambitious releases we have ever done.

Framerate: We made significant optimizations to our codebase and assets to improve framerate. While not as dramatic an increase in framerate achieved in R49, players should still see another step forward in Release 50.

Starting Scene Polish: We visited all seven starting scenes, including Isle of Storms, Battle of Highvale, Blood River Massacre, Battle of Solace Bridge and the three Outskirts scenes, to continue polishing the new user experience. In all of these scenes, we reduced the overall difficulty, added more direction, added more quests, increased the number of enemies, and improved the navigability.

Scene Rebuilds: We continue to make steady progress on rebuilding scenes previously cloned from other scenes. In Release 50, we uncloned two more adventure scenes: Sunless Barrens and South Drachvald Spur. We also branched out beyond adventure scenes and uncloned the city of Yew, whose visibility on the overworld is tied to our celestial mechanics.

Crafting: The crafting system got a huge expansion this release with the long-awaited addition of 15 new Refining Skills that increase the output of the Refining tier of crafting. We also added over 30 new recipes and patterns including Norgard Barbarian Clan Armors, the Ancient Vile Scythe (rare loot from the Ravensmoor Lich), and Log Cabin.

Character Polish: The character team has been hard at work expanding and improving the characters of the world. In Release 50 they not only added a completely new creature with the Wild Boars, they also completely replaced all of the Wolves and replaced and expanded all of our Female Peasants with new upgraded visuals.

User Interface Polish: A player’s interaction with the game depends completely on the interface.  We spent this release making several key improvements, including the ability to lock items in your inventory (preventing accidental salvage, sale, etc.), target highlighting, and altitude indicators for task locations on the compass.

Combat Polish and Balance: We also spent a huge amount of time on combat balance and polish with over 35 individual changes in Release 50 alone. Updates included a rewrite of the fundamental math driving combat (no big deal, right?), ransom polish, making torches into offhand weapons, and improving aggro calculations.

I want to express a huge amount of gratitude to the backers who tested the below listed items on the QA server. They found many bugs and also provided editorial feedback on this post so that it is easy to read and actually matches what is in the game.

While we are getting closer to launch, we are still in a constant state of change. We do not yet have all of the in-game systems needed to inform players about these changes, and to help them to explore new content and systems. This means we rely mostly on this message, and the linked instructions and known issues to convey the current game state. We regularly have to answer questions or filter bug reports because some players elect not to read this valuable information.

By taking a few moments to read through this information, a great deal of our time and efforts can be redirected to focus on new “unanswered” questions and addressing critical issues impacting each release. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to review this post and for all the truly valuable feedback you continue to provide.

Also, remember that while we are providing new content with each release, our player community is also working overtime to make new events for you to enjoy. Be sure to check out when there are player-run events either in the Community Events section of the forums or the player-run website: Avatars Circle. You can also get information about the latest official Upcoming Events on the Main Website.

Without further ado, here is a list of what you can expect to see in Release 50.

Key:

• Plain Text: The original plan for the Release deliverables from the Quarterly update. We intentionally preserve the original text so that our backers can compare plan versus actuals.
• Italics: Detailed notes of what was actually delivered.
• Strikethrough: These are items that did not make the release (but are still planned).

RELEASE 50, January 25, 2018

• • Story: We will continue to work on adding side quests and polish to the Paths of Truth, Love, and Courage. Additionally, we will continue doing polish work focused specifically on the starting scenes. Also, we will continue to add and update maps for the in-game map system. Finally, some adventure scenes in various regions of Novia will be rebuilt from scratch.
    • Path of Courage Polish: (SPOILERS) We fixed and polished the “Deliver Gawain’s Amulet” task with improvements to Brigid’s dialogue and keywords.
    • Path of Love Polish: (SPOILERS)
      • Starting Later: When you start the Path of Love after starting the game on one of the other paths we have added a task to Edvard (“Find out why the Undead are rising!”) that sends you to Solace Bridge Outskirts to gain the Love Banner and then leads you on to Stanley in Soltown.
      • Dialogue Polish: Samael now has dialogue about Min Liang Tan since he now sends you to him as part of the plot. Also added response in Khasi’s dialogue for “apart” keyword.
      • Spirit Talkers: Once you get a Spirit Talker from one of the courts in Ardoris the other will no longer remain available.
    • Isle of Storms Polish:  
      • Quest Highlighting & Locations: Quest-specific items glow and tasks show up properly in the compass and map.
      • Points of Interest: Added back in discoverable Points of Interest.
      • Arabella Conversation: We trimmed some of Arabella’s conversation to keep things moving quickly forward.
      • Greyed-out Buttons: Buttons for functions that are not allowed in this scene (ex. Character Sheet) are now greyed-out so as not to confuse new users.
      • Jump Task: We have added a task for the player to use the jump command so that they will learn all aspects of movement (not just WASD).
    • Battle of Highvale Polish:
      • Quest Highlighting & Locations: Quest-specific items glow and tasks show up properly in the compass and map.
      • Enemy Difficulty Lowered: The overall strength of all enemies was lowered approximately 50%.
      • “See Horatio” Task: Added a task for Floyd, who asks you to speak to Horatio in Highvale Outskirts, to better transition players to the next scene.
      • Combat Mode: Combat mode now automatically turns on the first time you pick up a weapon.
      • Edvard: Added dialogue about Tracy
    • Highvale Outskirts Polish:
      • Horatio’s Sniper Troubles: Horatio, the first guard you meet, now has a simple starting quest to take out some elf snipers nearby.
      • Horatio’s UI Tutorial: Horatio (the person Floyd sends you to) gives you a torch and instructs you to open your inventory and character sheet in order to help you learn about those interfaces.
      • Enemy Difficulty Lowered: The overall strength of all enemies was reduced by approximately 50% and we also reduced the aggro and help radii for all enemies by about 75%.
      • Enemy Numbers Increased: In addition to reducing enemy difficulty, we have increased the numbers of enemies across the entire scene and added some enemy patrols. This should insure that players always have something to fight but won’t be overwhelmed. We also introduced some new NPC types! Keep your eyes peeled for Ice Wolves and Ice Bears along the scene’s treacherous trails!
      • Quest Highlighting & Locations: Quest-specific items glow and tasks show up properly in the compass and map.
      • POI Compass Adjustments: We made various adjustments to the locations of points of interest to make sure they are easier to find. This included naming the 4 pillars, for instance.
      • Esmeralda Sleepless: Esmeralda is no longer on a schedule that has her go to sleep to make it easier on new players trying to interact with her for turning in her quest.
      • Geistesser Lair Passages Sealed: We sealed off the downward passages, which cannot be opened, so that players will stop trying to open them.
    • Battle of Solace Bridge Polish:
      • Quest Highlighting & Locations: Quest-specific items glow and tasks show up properly in the compass and map.
      • Enemy Difficulty Lowered: The overall strength of all enemies was reduced by approximately 30%.
      • Trap & Environment Damage Lowered: The trap and environmental damage (ex. fire) has been greatly lowered.
      • “Seek Garridon” Task: Added a task to Edvard who asks you to speak to Private Garridon in Solace Bridge Outskirts to better transition players to the next scene.
      • Combat Mode: Combat mode now automatically turns on the first time you pick up a weapon.
    • Solace Bridge Outskirts Polish:
      • Quest Highlighting & Locations: Quest-specific items glow and tasks show up properly in the compass and map.
      • Enemy Difficulty Lowered: The overall strength of all enemies was reduced by approximately 30%, and we lowered the aggro and help radii for all enemies by about 75%.
      • Enemy Numbers Increased: In addition to reducing enemy difficulty, we have increased the numbers of enemies across the entire scene and added some enemy patrols. This should insure that players always have something to fight but won’t be overwhelmed.
      • Trap & Environment Damage Lowered: The trap and environmental damage (ex. fire) has been greatly lowered.
      • Private Garridon’s UI Tutorial: Private Garridon (the person Edvard sends you to) gives you a leather helm and instructs you to open your inventory and character sheet in order to help you learn about those interfaces.
    • Blood River Massacre Polish:
      • Quest Highlighting & Locations: Quest-specific items glow and tasks show up properly in the compass and map.
      • Enemy Difficulty Lowered: The overall strength of all enemies was reduced by approximately 30%.
      • Combat Mode: Combat mode now automatically turns on the first time you pick up a weapon.
    • Blood River Outskirts Polish:
      • Quest Highlighting & Locations: Quest-specific items glow and tasks show up properly in the compass and map.
      • Trap & Environment Damage Lowered: The trap and environmental damage (ex. fire) has been greatly reduced.
      • Enemy Difficulty Lowered: We reduced the aggro and help radii for all enemies by about 75%.
      • Elliana’s UI Tutorial: Elliana (the person Edvard sends you to) now gives you a cloth helm and instructs you to open your inventory and character sheet in order to help you learn about those interfaces.
    • Scene Rebuilds: The following scenes were previously clones of other adventure scenes but were completely rebuilt for this release.
      • South Drachvald Spur: South Drachvald Spur is a Tier 2 scene in the Drachvald region and is one of the very last lower-tier scenes to be rebuilt. It is an arid, hilly area once populated by a powerful equestrian people whose culture has been lost to the ravages of the cataclysm. Their horse carvings can still be seen on the buttes of the region and rumors abound of ghostly horse riders appearing at night.
      • Sunless Barrens: This area is located west of the Hellfire Rift between the Jade River and the Blackblade Mountains in the South Paladis region. Its name comes from the steam coming from the lava of the Hellfire Rift, which cuts through the rock of Novia and pours into the Bay of Storms. Geysers, lava flows, Ebon Dawn Cultists, Fire Elementals, and Plunderers are among the dangers that await travelers to this perilous area. We also introduced a new NPC type! Keep your eyes peeled for Lava Golems along the scene’s treacherous lava flows! Even before the Cataclysm, this area was rich in mineral deposits and efforts to extract those continue to this day despite the many obstacles.
      • Yew: The Elven city of Yew has been shielded from outsiders by a nearly constant shroud of fog on the overworld that only clears during certain alignments of the heavenly bodies. The city itself is full of wonderful Elven architecture and because of the natural foggy defenses has never been fortified. Yew was a clone of Jaanaford but has been completely rebuilt for Release 50. As with other town rebuilds, the locations of player lots, merchant locations, and scene exits were not changed.
    • Jack of Diamonds: (SPOILERS) High above Novia flies the Jack of Diamonds, an airship shrouded in mystery but known to be a safe haven for disreputable types. Rumors suggest there’s a blackmarket fence on board who accepts certain undelivered packages and letters that would normally be turned into a town crier. This flying “den of thieves” never lands, but sometimes allows those with poor reputation to board via smaller balloon shuttles found near the docks of Aerie, Brittany Alleys, Blood Bay, Graff Island, and the city of Mud.
    • Side Quests: (SPOILERS) We added several side quests.
      • Quest Item Highlighting: Added item highlighting to the following side quests: “Amanda Waits” (starts in Etceter), “Witch’s Solution” (starts in North Midmaer Way), “Visit Shrines” (from Devotional Caretakers), Virtue gloves quests, “Courage Club” (starts with guards in several scenes with barracks), and “Bank Key” (starts in Aerie).
      • Quest Locations: Added quest location information to the following side quests so they will show properly on the compass and map: “Amanda Waits” (starts in Etceter), “Witch’s Solution” (starts in North Midmaer Way), “Visit Shrines” (from Devotional Caretakers), “Bank Key” (starts in Aerie), “Save Mildryd” (starts in Resolute), and “Truest Love” (Starts in Solania).
      • Truth Boot Quest: A plunderer in the Sunless Barrens claims she escaped the clutches of the Ebon Dawn and could use your help stealing magical cloth from an evil cultist. Or maybe you’d rather help the cultist around the corner, who’s willing to help you better understand the ways of the Ebon Dawn? Pursue your own truth and Cloth Boots of Truth may come to you in the end!
      • Love Boot Quest: A mentor has brought her squires to the South Drachvald Spur to engage in a local custom, but is afraid the area has become too dangerous to venture around. Won’t you find it in your heart to help them with their custom? Doing so could end up getting you Leather Greaves of Love!
      • Courage Boot Quest: The blacksmith in Yew had his ingot shipment stolen. Are you brave enough to recover what’s been stolen? It just might set you on a path to earn Plate Greaves of Courage!
      • Kurt’s Secret: Blacksmiths are strong, skilled, and often work long hours, but one such smith often escapes the hustle and bustle of work by visiting the remote hills in eastern Midmaer. Those in search of encounters that rove across Novia may accidentally run into Kurt the blacksmith and find out the secret to his happiness… and learn the /spin emote he has to teach!
      • Fungal Enthusiast: Somewhere in Yew there’s a grumpy elf who’s just trying to do his job but keeps getting interrupted by outlander after outlander. After engaging in conversation with this sarcastic fellow, there’s a good chance you’ll pick up his /eyeroll emote.
      • Say it with Love: For when your hands do your talking for you to your special someone. The /iheartyou emote can be learned by asking Khasi, the Priestess of Love in Ardoris, about love. (Note that she once gave “/kiss” before this release – that can still be learned from her courtiers, Chantik and Damai.)
      • Mail for “X” Reset Fixed: Town Criers will once again reset the Mail for “X” quest.
      • Town Crier Quest Check: Fixed an issue where Town Criers would give out multiple mail items at once for the Mail quest.
    • Scene Polish:
      • Owl’s Nest: Improved Norman’s conversation to offer less distraction and be more focused on meeting with Wycliffe, including giving a proper task to meet him in Owl’s Head.
      • East Longfall Wetland: Added quest data markers to the Bank Key quest and re-added back the elf thief who was accidentally deleted in the recent uncloning.
      • East Perennial Trail: Doubled the drop rate of iron blades for Geof’s quest in Soltown.
      • Elysium Mines: We reduced the aggro and help range of the skeletons.
      • K’rawl: There are now more ankhs across this entire scene.
      • The Fall: The liches in The Fall now respawn faster.
      • Verdantis Mines: There are now more ankhs at the bottom of the mines.
      • Volcanic Panic: Scenes with volcanic activity will now be accompanied by the occasional loud rumble and shaky screen. Affected scenes so far include Oracle Colossus, Northwest Blackblade Mountains, Southeast Blackblade Mountains, Blackblade Foothills, and Nightshade Pass.
      • Under Construction Sign Removal: We have begun the process of removing all of the Under Construction signs in the scenes in the game. We anticipate full removal by Release 51. Any scenes that remain uncloned by launch time will instead have a pop up dialogue.
    • Sieges:
      • Lunar Rift Bypass: Using a Lunar Rift now allows Avatars to bypass sieges.
      • Sieges Not Clearing: We fixed an issue where sieges were not always clearing once completed.
    • Free Trial Choose Any Path: Free Trial users can now choose any of the three paths (Truth, Love, or Courage) to start, but after selection are locked to that single path going forward. We changed this from locking them to a path that we had chosen (Courage) because we felt this misrepresented a core part of the brand of the game, which is “choice in all things” (ex. choosing your path, no classes, choose virtue/non-virtue, etc.).
    • Fence Demolition: The citizens of Aerie and Owl’s Head are feeling bolder, and have removed the electric fences that surrounded their towns.
    • Scene Fixes: We went through many scenes in the game fixing major and minor bugs including conversations, stuck spots, floating assets, missing assets, bad NPC patrols, inaccessible ore nodes, missing collision, audio issues, falling through the world, tree issues, etc. The list includes:
      • Aerie
      • Blackblade Foothills
      • Blood Bay
      • Brittany Estates
      • Crooked Shank
      • East Longfall Wetland
      • Elysium Mines
      • Etceter
      • Ferig’s Battle Camp
      • Fortus End
      • Jaanaford
      • K’rawl
      • Malice
      • North Brightbone Woods
      • North Midmaer Way (Wisps stuck in the ground)
      • North Naryad Pinelands
      • Northwood
      • Oracle Temple
      • Plains Encounter
      • Quel Passage
      • Resolute Sewers
      • Restless Woods
      • Ruins of Ravensmoor
      • Snowy Mountain Road Encounter
      • Solania Catacombs
      • Soltown
      • South Longfall Wetland
      • South Majestic Forest
      • Spite
      • Ulfheim
      • Xenos

• • Performance: Performance work will mainly focus on improving framerate and reducing hitching during gameplay. Work will also continue to be done on load time reduction on the few outstanding scenes that are not meeting our 15 second load time target.
    • VFX, Cloth and SFX Culling: Visual effects and cloth simulation (cloaks, dresses, etc.) now properly cull at a distance and when not in view of the camera. Additionally sound effects now properly cull at distance.
    • Targeting: The calculations used to determine current target have been greatly optimized.
    • Player Movement: The movement code for players and NPC movement received significant optimizations to reduce the load on the physics thread.
    • NPC Movement vs. Master Client Performance: We decoupled the performance of the master client from the update rate of the AI movements and behaviors so if the master client in a scene starts to behave poorly (as low as 10 fps) there should be no effect on NPCs.
    • Bank Preloading: We now start to preload the contents of the bank in the background to improve performance when you open up the bank interface. This will be most noticeable for users with large bank inventories.
    • Bank Loading Indicators: When bank windows open and load content, players will now see a counter showing the number of items generated as it loads. As with Bank Preloading, this will be most noticeable for users with large bank inventories.
    • Bird Flocks: The simulated flocks of birds seen in towns received a significant number of optimizations.
    • Recalling to Player Lots: When a player uses a Recall Scroll to return to a lot, the scene load will now include the time it takes to load the specific lot. This will allow players to step within the lot’s boundaries immediately upon entering the scene instead of needing to wait additional time for the lot’s decorations to catch up.
    • Shield VFX (Ice, Death, etc.): We have greatly reduced the visuals on these so they do not obscure your field of view as much during combat and to improve performance.
    • Asset Optimization: Several assets in the game were either too high polygon count, too large of a texture, made of too many individual objects, too many particles, etc. We have begun making passes through those objects and fixing those issues.
      • Nightmare Statue
      • Stone Ruins
      • Wooden Elevator
      • Shroud of the Avatar VFX
      • Light Spell
      • Bone Steel Crown VFX
      • Pressure Plate Spike Trap
      • Elysian Illumination

• • Crafting & Economy: We will continue adding more loot to the game, including unique components for crafting, more Virtue Gear, and Barbarian wearables. We will begin adding refining skills that increase the overall output of the refining step of crafting by increasing speed, batch size, and raw good-to-component ratios.
    • Refining Skills: All Refining skill trees have been expanded with new skills that increase overall output of Refined Materials (not components). This includes Butchery, Textiles, Tanning, Smelting, and Milling. Note that these skills only apply to recipes labeled as ‘Refined Materials’ in the crafting book.
      • Batching: Increases the max batch count when refining materials (not components). Players start with 20 and can gain an additional 40 at GM, for a total of 60 at skill level 100.
      • Speed: Increases the speed when refining materials (not components). At GM skill level 100 players get a 20% bonus.
      • Efficiency: Increases chance to gain extra materials when refining materials (not components). At GM skill level 100 players get a 20% chance to gain additional materials. The amount of materials gained will vary roughly from 50% to 100% additional output.
    • Crafting Skill Display: Skill requirements for recipes are now displayed in the recipe book, at merchants, when teaching a recipe, and in the recipe list at crafting stations if you do not meet the skill level requirements of the recipe.
    • Recipe List UI Polish: We made some visual improvements to the Recipe List user interface in crafting stations.
    • Foraging Fixes: We fixed a bug in which the experience requirements to level between Foraging’s Surveying and Meticulous Collection skills were swapped. This made it harder to reach higher levels in Surveying and easier for Meticulous Collection. These experience pools have been corrected to match the requirements of other production trees. Please note that no character experience has been lost. Players may see changes in their reported skill levels based on the corrected values. Commonly, players will observe reduced levels for Meticulous Collection and increases to Survey for Foraging.
    • Skill Level vs. Proficiency: We have removed Crafting Proficiency as a player-facing value and will instead only use Skill Level for simplicity. We are doing this to prevent confusion and make crafting-related activities more straight forward. The most visible change from this will be that learning high tier Crafting Recipes will now require a minimum Skill Level instead of Crafting Proficiency. This change will see Crafting Proficiency removed from interfaces like Skill Trees, buying Recipes from merchants, Crafting Stations, etc and also bonuses changed from Devotionals, Expert Crafting Stations, Artifacts, etc. Note that with this change some recipes that were previously craftable by you may be temporarily unavailable until you increase your level accordingly but the difference should be very small (10% at most).
    • Refined Components Purchase Orders: You can now create Purchase Orders for Refined Components on your Player Vendors.
    • Fixed “Strength” Masterwork: This was improperly labeled as “Weapon Strength.”
    • Damaged Tools Indicator: In Release 49, we added on-screen indicators and cursors to show when your tools were broken. We have expanded this functionality in Release 50 to include screen indicators, cursors and improved feedback at crafting stations for when you have damaged tools.
    • Mossy Handle: The drop rate for this rare component has been tripled (but it will still be VERY rare).
    • Bone Armor and Crossbows Durability: We fixed an issue where these items were not losing max durability.
    • New Unique Skill Icons: Previously, all the skills inside each crafting tree were using that same “base skill” icon. In Release 50, we did a pass to create unique icons for all of the skills in each skill tree.
      • Agriculture: Water Plants, Harvest Plants, Sow Seeds Bonus
      • Alchemy: Enchantment, Armor Enchantment, Weapon Enchantment
      • Blacksmithing: Masterwork, Salvage, Repair, Masterwork Shield, Masterwork Chain Armor, Masterwork Plate Armor, Masterwork Blade Weapon
      • Carpentry: Masterwork, Salvage, Repair, Masterwork Ranged Weapon, Masterwork Polearm Weapon, Masterwork Bludgeon Weapon
      • Field Dressing: Swift Gathering, Survey, Meticulous Collection
      • Fishing: Bait Recovery
      • Foraging: Swift Gathering, Survey, Meticulous Collection
      • Forestry: Swift Gathering, Survey, Meticulous Collection
      • Mining: Swift Gathering, Survey, Meticulous Collection
      • Tailoring: Masterwork, Salvage, Repair, Masterwork Cloth Armor, Masterwork Leather Armor
    • New Recipes & Patterns:
      • Bear Clan Leather Armor (4 pieces) (Norgard Bear Clan Barbarians)
      • Bear Headdress (Norgard Bear Clan Barbarians)
      • Boar Clan Leather Armor (4 pieces) (Norgard Boar Clan Barbarians)
      • Boar Headdress (Norgard Boar Clan Barbarians)
      • Dragon Clan Leather Armor (4 pieces) (Norgard Dragon Clan Barbarians)
      • Dragon Headdress (Norgard Dragon Clan Barbarians)
      • Dual Wax Cylinder Phonograph (Music Merchants, Ardoris Carpentry Merchant)
      • Front Clasp Cloak (Tailoring Merchants)
      • Hanging Potted Azalea Plant (Verdantis Decoration Merchants)
      • Hanging Potted Ivy Plant (Verdantis Decoration Merchants)
      • Hanging Potted Sword Plant (Verdantis Decoration Merchants)
      • Log Cabin (Ardoris Carpentry Merchant)
      • Primal Bear Headdress (Norgard Bear Clan Barbarians)
      • Stag Clan Leather Armor (3 pieces) (Norgard Stag Clan Barbarians)
      • Stag Headdress (Norgard Stag Clan Barbarians)
      • Taming Sign (South Paladis Decoration Merchants)
      • Wall Mirror (Verdantis Decoration Merchants)
      • Wild Boar Trophy (Etceter Decoration Merchant)
      • Wolf Clan Leather Armor (2 pieces) (Norgard Wolf Clan Barbarians)
      • Wolf Headdress (Norgard Wolf Clan Barbarians)

• • User Interface Polish: We will make various improvements to the in-game map system, including support for localization and quest locations. We will begin adding options to disable assistive features like quest highlighting. Additionally, we will polish targeting to better identify your current target and whether your target is in or out of range of your weapon.
    • Targeting: Targets are now highlighted (versus changing the reticle). This should both make it clearer of what your current target is and also whether the target is in or out of range of your attack.
    • Highlight Strength Option: The Video option previously known as “Reticle Strength” has been relabeled “Highlight Strength” to match the change in targeting visuals (see above).
    • Lock to Inventory: You can now lock an item in your inventory. This prevents you from accidentally letting the item leave your inventory via selling to a merchant, crafting (salvage, enchant, masterwork), placing in a container, or placing in your bank. You can invoke this command by right-clicking on the item and selecting the “Lock to Inventory” option. NOTE: This does not protect an item from ransom in PVP.
    • Altitude Compass Indicators: Items on your compass will now indicate if they are above or below you in elevation as you approach.
    • Show Task Highlighting Option: You can now turn off Task Highlighting in the Options menu.
    • Quest Data for Sparkles/Toggling: Quest data has been assigned to most quest tasks in the game, so they now properly sparkle on the compass/overworld and can be properly toggled on the screen.
    • Utility Bar: In previous releases we had removed the Utility bar as a game feature that needed to be unlocked by trainers beyond the Tutorial. In Release 50, we have restored their functionality to be immediately available during the tutorial. No follow-up task is necessary anymore to use the Utility hotbar.
    • Player Name Clickable: When NPCs ask the player for their name, the player name now appears as a clickable option in the conversation (instead of having to be manually typed). Note that avatars can still manually type their names (or lie about their identities) if they so desire.
    • Item Comparisons at Merchants: Item comparisons now work when hovering over items in merchant windows.
    • Loot Chat Messages: We added chat messages for all items you acquire via loot/harvesting/etc.
    • Username vs. Character Name: We added a note when there is a failed login attempt that “username is not the same as your character name.”
    • Screen Resolution Selection: This is now a scrollable list allowing access to much higher resolutions that were previously inaccessible.
    • Bank Limit Fix: We fixed an issue where adding items to containers inside the bank would not respect the bank slot limit.
    • Overworld Compass Quest Indicator Fix: We fixed an issue where multiple listings of the same task (ex. Visit Devotional Shrines) would show up on the Compass.
    • In-game Map Features: We have reinstated and made various upgrades to some original features of the in-game, and website version, of the map system. You can keep up to date on the latest changes in a forum post from Kory here.
      • Map Search: On the website version of the map system, you can search maps by name in the search bar in the top left.
      • User Login: We have integrated our account login functionality with the website version of the map system allowing us to reinstate several of the original SotAMap features.
      • POT Customization: If you own a POT that is on the map, you can now modify that POT map on the website by logging into your account that owns that POT and enabling editing. Note that lot ownership and home information automation is coming as a feature in a future release so any work on customizing that specific information will be overwritten when those features comes online
      • Personal POI Placement: When viewing maps on the website, anyone who is logged in can place Personal Points of Interests by enabling editing.
      • Discoverable Locations on Maps: Quest NPCs, Task locations, Merchants, Exits, and Points of Interest will now dynamically appear on your in-game maps.
    • New In-game Maps: We added several new in-game maps
      • Battle of Highvale
      • Battle of Solace Bridge
      • Blood River Massacre
    • In-game Map Coordinate Fixes: The coordinates in a large number of the in-game maps were broken by some changes to the database in Release 49. A lot of those maps are now fixed. You can read more details here and here.
      • Battle of Solace Bridge
      • Brittany Graveyard
      • East Longfall Wetland
      • East Perennial Trail
      • East Veiled Swamp
      • East Veiled Swamp
      • Eastreach Gap
      • Elysian Plains
      • Etceter
      • Fortus End
      • Graff Gem Mines Entrance
      • Hills Siege
      • Middle Downs
      • New Holtrot
      • North Fetid Swamp
      • North Fetid Swamp
      • POT Broochash
      • Sanctus Spine
      • Savrenoc Timberland
      • Solace Bridge
      • South Fetid Swamp
      • Storms Reach
      • The Clink
      • Vertas Pass
      • Whispering Woods
    • Map Localization Delayed: Work on mailing address verification for physical goods on the website delayed the localization work.
  • Physical Goods: Production of the physical goods including the cloth map, box, and manual will continue.
    • Cloth Map: We have updated the cloth map to match the current version of the world map to make the final version that will be produced and awarded to all eligible backers. We are making some final fixes based on the diligent input from our community and it will be going to manufacture soon, pending approval of bids.
    • Box: We have created the initial template for the box using Denis Loubet’s cover art and it will be going to manufacture soon, pending approval of bids. Note that the image here is still getting final tweaks.
    • Manual: We have created the initial layout for the physical manual and we are now finishing the text and starting the illustration phase. The manual will include art by Denis Loubet, who did illustrations for the original Ultima manuals. Note these are images of the work in progress.
    • Address Verification: You can now verify your address for shipment of physical goods on your account page under Edit Profile. We will need confirmation of your physical address, even if you have already entered it previously.

• • Combat: A pass will be made on combat balance looking at different combat and magic schools.
    • New Combat Math: We have made major changes to how combat math is calculated. We have done away with the old 0-100 system and replaced it with a weighted scale system. The vast majority of players will not notice any difference but high end players will likely notice that some of their tricks to completely avoid being hit will no longer work. Additionally, the attack roll is now split into multiple rolls which makes it possible to have a combination of things happen. For instance, it is now possible to parry a critical hit or get a glancing blow that you also block with your shield.
    • Ransom Changes: We have made several changes and improvements to how ransoming items works that are gained in PVP (either through combat or pickpocketing).
      • Notification: You now get an onscreen notification that you have lost an item through PVP or pickpocketing. There is an intentional 5 minute delay before a ransom icon appears after being pickpocketed. As in life, you don’t often notice theft until it’s too late.
      • Duration Increase: The time to pay the ransom has increased from 2 hours to 24 hours, to give players plenty of time to gain their items back.
      • Valuation: Crafted items and artifacts are now worth much more when ransomed.
      • Item Selection: The way items are randomly selected for ransom has changed so that we only consider each item type once, so many small stacks of an item type only count as a single chance during the selection process (i.e. those of you that have been using many different stacks of items as “defense” are out of luck).
    • Max Movement Speed Check: Effects that modify movement speed can only allow stack to a maximum of two. Additionally, their effects add together instead of multiplying each other as they did previously. This should fix the issue where stacking various buffs and artifacts with movement effects would produce insane movement rates.
    • Skill Unlearning 100% Return: For R50 and R51, all skill unlearning will return 100% of the experience that was spent on them. We made this change because of the major changes to combat math, ransom, and movement speed above that some players might feel invalidate skills they invested in.
    • Glyphs Immovable While Charging: When you are charging a spell by holding down the mouse key that glyph is temporarily locked in place so you won’t accidentally drag it out of its slot.
    • Torch Offhand Bludgeon: Torches have expanded functionality beyond being a light source. They are now also an offhand bludgeon weapon that has a small chance to add a fire DOT to your target.
    • Torch Durability: The time it takes for a lit torch to lose its durability has been significantly reduced. Avatars can now expect fresh torches to be fully consumed within about 25 minutes.
    • Equipment Durability: In release 50, equipment damage events have been rebalanced to trigger less frequently, but for more durability damage per event. This is to improve server logging and client performance. The time it takes for equipment to break should be virtually unchanged.
    • Light Spell & Courage Path: Players who choose the Courage Path now also start with the Light Spell to match the other paths.
    • Aggro Change: We have updated the math used for calculating the decay of aggro over time to support multiple sources of threat (damage, healing, pets, etc.). This change will make it easier for players attempting to ‘tank’ to actively hold aggro.
    • Body Slam, Charge, and Engage Opponent: These skills have had their movement speed increased dramatically so you can more effectively close in on fast moving opponents. Additionally, these all will now require a valid target to use. Previously these would let you use them even if you were out of range and waste focus.
    • Push and Pull Resistance: These polearm skills can now be resisted by powerful opponents.
    • Opportunity Strike Range: This skill will now correctly use the weapon range.
    • Aetheric Feedback Focus Bonus: The focus bonus has been changed from a percentage to a fixed amount of 2+ Skill Level/40 per tick.
    • Riposte, Aetheric Feedback, Opportunity Strike, Fortify Defenses Bonuses: These skills should once again provide the extra bonuses when used at the proper time. Also Aetheric Feedback is now properly testing for a critical hit versus any use of the spell.
    • Obsidian Potion of Reclamation: We increased the numbers on this potion to improve the effectiveness.
    • Flinch Animations: We fixed a bug with animation transitions so flinch animations on the player character will now play more often and give a better visual indication on when the player is getting hit.
    • Blood VFX Scaling: The visual effect of blood spurting during combat now properly scales to the size of the target.
    • Earthquake Spell Screenshake: The Earthquake spell once again generates a screen shake. Note that you can disable this (along with other similar effects) in the options menu.
    • First Person and Particles: We now have the ability to flag particles to not display when you are in first person view. The following VFX no longer render on the avatar when the player is in first person view: Shield of Air, Shield of Crystal, Shield of Ice, Death Shield, Immolation, Air’s Embrace, Celestial Blessing, Chaotic Feedback, Enlightenment, Spellbinder Stance, Shroud of the Avatar, Bonesteel Crown, and Heart of Sorrows.
    • Crates & Barrels Lootable in Combat: When you smash a crate or barrel you no longer have to exit combat to loot it.
    • NPC Auto-Sheathe: NPCs will no longer demand that players manually sheathe their weapons before speaking with them. Players will now automatically sheathe their weapons when interacting with Friendly NPCs. Note that this courtesy does not extend to Neutral NPCs, so be careful not to accidentally introduce yourself with a blade to the face!
    • Festering Poison Fix: Fixed a bug with how the damage for this poison was being calculated which was making it way too effective.
    • Equipping via Container Fix: We fixed a bug that allowed players to equip items via right-click from containers placed on player properties when they did not have permission to remove items. This left the item in two places at the same time, defying time-space rules and we cannot have that, can we? Oh wait we have magic…
    • Dragons vs. Pull: Dragons can no longer be affected by movement effects like the Push and Pull skills.
    • Blood Bay Confusion Timer: The confusion effect that the poison plants spew forth now properly generates a timer on screen.
    • Summoned Elemental Nameplate: Fixed an issue where the nameplate was too small to view.
    • Spellbinder Stance Tooltip: We have fixed the tooltip for this spell.
    • Wand of Embers: Fixed an issue preventing this artifact from working with several fire related spells.
    • Glyph Stacking: Fixed an issue where you could not drag a bigger stack onto a smaller stack of glyphs using the mouse.
    • Elysian Illumination and Stealth: The light generated by this spell now properly hides when the caster is stealthed.
    • Death Shield Fix: Death Shield now properly mitigates damage from critical hits.
    • Potion of Resistance: Fixed a bug on this potion that was causing the resistance buff not to properly apply. Also created tooltip data for it.
    • Hamstring vs. Undead: Undead are now properly immune to the combo Hamstring.
    • Parry vs. Ranged and DOTs: We fixed some issues where NPCs were accidentally able to parry ranged and DOT attacks when they should not have.
    • Buff Calculation Fix: We fixed an issue where buffs including Strength of Earth, Celestial Blessing, and Air’s Embrace were not passing through attunement information correctly between caster and target.
    • Grandmaster Apprentice Buff: We fixed issue where this buff would not be applied if you had set the GM skills to maintain.
    • Tame Heal and Tame Resurrect: Going forward, these spells will only be usable on pets (as their title implies).
    • Chaos Bolt Fix: We fixed the description so that it no longer lists all of the effects it will produces because where is the chaos in knowing everything beforehand?
    • New Unique Potion Icons: All potions were using the same icon so we did a pass to create unique icons for all of them.
      • Cure Plague Potion
      • Cure Poison Potion
      • Explosive Potion
      • Greater Potion of Focus
      • Greater Potion of Health
      • Haste Potion
      • Imbued Potion of Focus
      • Imbued Potion of Health
      • Imbued Potion of Regeneration
      • Imbued Potion of Restoration
      • Lesser Potion of Focus
      • Lesser Potion of Health
      • Obsidian Potions (all kinds)
      • Poison Potions (all kinds)
      • Potion of Acumen      
      • Potion of Cat’s Grace
      • Potion of Deftness      
      • Potion of Elemental Resistance
      • Potion of Focus
      • Potion of Health
      • Potion of Magic Resistance
      • Potion of Might           
      • Potion of Regeneration
      • Potion of Restoration
      • Potion of Wolf Speed  
      • Smelling Salts

• Character: Polish passes will be made on various creatures and non-player characters including the wolves, bears, and peasants.
  • Wild Boars: For a while now, we’ve had Wild Boars in our backlog to add as a wild creature and expand our bestiary. However, it has always been the victim of other priorities… until we started making our Norgard Barbarian Clans, which are each based on an animal. Each clan wears a headdress based on their totem animal; be it stag, bear, wolf, boar, or dragon. Each clan got an awesome animal hat, except the poor Boar Clan! Without any Wild Boars in the game, they were forced to wear a simple leather hat. Poor Boar Clan! Well, this would not stand! Therefore, in Release 50, our bestiary is expanding again to include Wild Boars! These beasts will attack with a ferocious charge that can knockdown targets and then use their sharp tusks to tear and bleed out those who encroach on their forest territory. There will be Elder and Obsidian visual variations in addition to the base version. Of course, this means we will also have a Boar Headdress, and the Boar Clan will finally get a proper headdress! Note that Wild Boars will not be tameable until Release 51. Wild Boars can be found in the following scenes (where they replaced some wolf packs):
    • Blood River
    • Bloodriver Forest
    • Brisach Maple Forest
    • Brittany Fields
    • Deep Savrenoc Timberland
    • East Longfall Wetland
    • East Sanctus Forest
    • Elysian Plains
    • Far Hinterlands
    • Greymark Forest
    • Naryad Woods
    • North Hinterlands
    • North Hulenholt
    • North Majestic Forest
    • North Midmaer Way
    • North Naryad Pinelands
    • North Quel Woods
    • Ravensmoor
    • Restless Woods
    • Savrenoc Stronghold
    • Savrenoc Timberland
    • Sawtooth Thicket
    • South Boundless Forest
    • South Brightbone Woods
    • South Celestial Wetlands
    • South Hinterlands
    • South Hulenholt
    • South Majestic Forest
    • South Quel Woods
    • South Ravenswood
    • Twins Foothills
    • Ulfheim
    • Verdantis Foothills
    • West Perennial Trail
    • West Ravenswood
    • West Sanctus Forest
    • Whispering Woods
  • Boar Clan Barbarians: These Tier 6 Barbarians and their pet boars can be found in Sawtooth Thicket, Far Hinterlands, and sometimes in the Verdantis Foothills.
  • Raven Clan Barbarians Removed: We originally planned on having six barbarian clans but we have decided to cut the Raven Clan.
  • New Wolves: We originally purchased our wolf from the Unity Asset store to save time and money, but it was not visually competitive. To address this shortcoming, we have completely rebuilt the wolves for Release 50 including all the variations, the wolf hat, wolf mask, and the wolf clan barbarians. The wolf trophies will be updated in Release 51.
    • Arctic Wolf
    • Elder Wolf
    • Desert Wolf
    • Obsidian Wolf
    • Timber Wolf
    • Grey Wolf
    • Wolf Headdress
    • Wolf Mask
    • Wolf Clan Barbarian
  • New Female Peasants: Like the wolf, we originally purchased our female peasants from the Unity Asset store to save time and money, but they were not visually competitive. To address this shortcoming, we have completely rebuilt the female peasants for Release 50. In addition to replacing the three previous versions, we have created an additional nine further variations for a total of twelve different female peasants representing different ages, outfits, and skin tones. In future releases, we will also be turning the clothes these NPCs are wearing into player wearables.
  • Ancient Vile Scythe: This unique scythe features a skull along the long curved blade and can only be obtained by defeating the Lich of Ravensmoor. This same lich is still the source of the Skull Sword.
  • Barbarian Clan Armor: The Barbarian Clans of Norgard are now dropping their signature armor when defeated. Note that the Barbarian Clans are also now the source of the animal head headdresses including the new Boar headdress and a new second Bear Headdress.
    • Bear Clan Leather Armor (4 pieces)
    • Bear Headdress
    • Boar Clan Leather Armor (4 pieces)
    • Boar Headdress
    • Dragon Clan Leather Armor (4 pieces)
    • Dragon Headdress
    • Primal Bear Headdress
    • Stag Clan Leather Armor (3 pieces)
    • Stag Headdress
    • Wolf Clan Leather Armor (2 pieces)
    • Wolf Headdress
  • Front Clasp Cloak: This new cloak with a metal clasp on the front can be crafted in the game. The recipe can be found on most tailoring merchants.
  • Boots of Virtue: The armors of Truth, Love, and Courage are expanding this release with boots! See the “side quests” section above on how to obtain them.
  • Lunar Rift Teleport VFX Polish: The visuals for teleporting into and out of a Lunar Rift have been greatly improved. Using the rift now plays an animation on the avatar and displays cool new visual effects.
  • Blood Hit VFX: Blood now properly scales according to the size of the target being hit.
  • Emotes:
    • Emotes while Sitting Fixes: /whisper and /kiss should now look correct when sitting.
    • /eyeroll: For those times when you really want to show your disapproval effectively. This emote can be learned from the Fungal Enthusiast in Yew (see Side Quests section above).
    • Fitness Emotes: We have created a set of fitness emotes that can be unlocked via the Meretz app and include /burpee, /plank, /pushup, /situp, /squat, and /runinplace.
    • /iheartyou: For when your hands do your talking for you to your special someone. This animation has the player forming the heart symbol with their hands over their heart. This emote can be learned by from Khasi, the Priestess of Love in Ardoris (see Side Quests section above).
    • /spin: This is for that special moment when you want to spin around in place with arms outstretched like a certain famous person who was in a musical in the Alps. You can get this emote from a roving encounter involving Kurt (see above).
  • Animal Headdress Name Change: Previously these animal based head wearables (stag, wolf, bear) were called “hats” but that name did a very poor job conveying the power and majesty of these fine pieces of headgear so we have renamed them to headdresses.
  • Player Position Fix: We fixed a major issue where other players movement would become spastic after using a moving platform (elevator, mining cart, etc.).
  • NPC Book Fix: NPCs now put books away when not using the reading emote. This fixes the issue where the books would stick out of their hands oddly when they were doing other animations like walking around.
  • Torch Fix: Torches once again properly stop displaying light when they reach a durability of zero.
  • Gear Fixes:
    • Community Cloaks: Fixed issue where several community cloaks were incorrectly flagged as dyeable.
    • Ornate Buckled Crosshatched Gambeson: Fixed issues with where dye was applying.
    • Viking Guard Cloak: Now properly dyeable.
    • Augmented Chainmail Chest Armor: Fixed issue that was causing a large gap in the chest during some animations like crafting.
• Player Towns & Player Housing:
  • Watermill Village Home: Our newest water based home is two stories and includes a water wheel that rotates. It is available in the Add-On Store.
  • Log Cabin: The Log Cabin is craftable via a recipe in-game and is village-sized. It is a classic frontier-style building with an open plan that is built of raw timbers.
  • Dual Wax Cylinder Phonograph: Kobold tinkers have once again provided those odd Outlanders with their latest outlandish request and manufactured a dual wax cylinder for what the Outlanders call “disc jockeying”. The Kobolds are justifiably confused by this of course because there are no discs, only cylinders! Note that even those this phonograph appears to have place for two wax cylinders it only currently plays one. This version is craftable in-game and the recipe can be found on the carpentry merchant in Ardoris or any music merchant. In Release 51 we will be adding an ornate version to the Add On Store as well as three DJ emotes.
  • Hollow Log Two-Story House with Tower: Players really liked the witch’s hollow log house that we introduced in South Longfall Wetland in Release 46, so at the suggestion of our players we have turned it into a house that will go live in Release 51 as a recipe rewarded from a quest! While building the Hollow Log House, we came up with an idea to make a slightly larger version with a second story facilitated by adding a vertically-oriented second hollow log to make a tower addition. You can find this larger version of the hollow log house on the Add-On Store.
  • Ornate Viking 3-Story Crafting Pavilion: With the popularity of the Shogun crafting pavilion, we decided to keep going and make more crafting pavilions in our other styles. The latest is in the Viking style and can be found on the Add-On Store.
  • Ornate Tavern Set: This ornate version of the in-game bar was a player request from the Deco Divas and comes in two pieces. One has a section that flips up and another is a long counter. You can purchase this on the Add-On Store.
  • Obsidian Obelisk: Baron Drocis has been requesting more Obsidian themed decorations and wearables for a long time now and after the recent rebuild of the Crags he noticed the liberal use of Obsidian Obelisks in the scene. We have turned those into a decoration that can be purchased in the Add-On Store.
  • Ornate Watering Can: Players loved seeing the watering can when they watered their plants and asked that we make a decoration out of it. This is the ornate version for the Add On Store. In Release 51 we will be adding an in-game craftable version as well.
  • Wild Boar Trophy: Once you defeat one of these noble beasts in combat you may want to use your crafting skills to turn its head into a trophy that you can display on your wall.
  • Cordelayne Painting: The latest character portrait from Denis Loubet’s Patreon project is of Cordelayne and, with his kind permission, is now available on the art crown vendor in Ardoris known as Caravaggio’s Wolf.
  • Taming Sign: In Release 49, we added Ornate Taming Signs to the Add-On Store. In Release 50, we have added a recipe to craft the plain version.
  • Wall Mirror: In Release 49, we added an Ornate Wall Mirror to the Add-On Store. In Release 50, we have added a recipe to craft the plain version.
  • Hanging Potted Plants: In Release 49 we added Ornate Hanging Potted Plants to the Add-On Store. In Release 50 we have added recipes to craft plain versions of the Azalea, Ivy, and Sword plants.
  • Novia Map Reward Polish: We have updated this to match the latest cloth map art and we added a virtue symbol to the frame.
  • Offline Mode Property Manager Fix: We fixed an issue where the property manager was sometimes failing in Offline Mode.
  • Forest POT Templates Polish: Flattened areas near location (Loc: 32, 37.91, 291) to allow placement of buildings and decorations.
  • Phonograph Fixes: We fixed a bunch of issues with various phonographs. We fixed an issue with the Broadcast Automated Phonograph where you could not place wax cylinders inside upon initial placement. We also fixed an issue where wax cylinder phonographs would only stop playing for the person who stopped it, not the listeners.
  • Shogun Crafting Pavilion Fixes & Name Update: The Shogun Crafting Pavilion actually has a 3rd story at the very top so we have updated the name accordingly. We also fixed some issues with the decoration layers that were preventing placement of items on some surfaces.
  • Lot Deeds Naming Fix: All lot deeds were listed as plural in the store and in the game even though they were a single item. So now they correctly say Player Owned Town Row Lot Property Deed (digital) instead of Player Owned Town Row Lot Property Deeds (digital) for example.
  • House and Furniture Fixes: Fixed various issues with homes and furniture including places where decorations could not be placed, where stairs could not be climbed without jumping, where furniture could not be used, etc. The list includes:
    • Ardoris Tapestry (was incorrectly showing Desert Lion)
    • Bandit Spear
    • Crafting Pavilion
    • Drydock Shogun Ship
    • Elven Town Home
    • Keep Stone Arena
    • Knight Benefactor
    • Kobold 4-Story Great Hall
    • Lord Benefactor Home
    • Lord of the Manor Keep
    • Shogun Ship
    • Tavern Counter
    • Wood & Plaster 4-Story Row Home (allowed too many exterior lights)
  • New and Updated Dynamic POTs:
    • Arcadia: Upgraded to City.
    • Avallon: Upgraded to Village.
    • Breath of Fire: Renamed (formerly PenFranc Folklore). Converted to Island 01a. Ownership changed. Changed location.
    • Chao Insula: Renamed (formerly Catscratch Hovel). Converted to Island 01a. Ownership changed. Interconnection (changed nested interconnection to within Insulam de Nocte).
    • Justice Hold: Upgraded to Crossroads Village.
    • Knightmare Falls: Ownership changed.
    • Krabnevir: Renamed (formerly Trysull). Converted to Swamp 01a. Ownership changed. Changed location. Upgraded to Village.
    • Light City: Upgraded to Crossroads Village.
    • Novia Market: Ownership changed.
    • Outlander Welcome Center: Upgraded to Crossroads Village.
    • Rift’s End: Ownership changed. Interconnections (added Tortuga; removed Rift’s Legacy).
    • Salisbury Plains: Upgraded to Town.
• Make a Difference, Telethon & Holiday Content: We will add the R47 Telethon items and more 2017 Winter Holiday items.
  • Movember Items: We added several unique variants of the helm and cloak to the Cloth and Follicular Reliquaries as well as making a new Moustache shield.
    • Darkstarr Moustache Cloak (Reliquary Exclusive)
    • Darkstarr Moustache Helm (Reliquary Exclusive)
    • Darkstarr Moustache Shield (Reliquary Exclusive)
    • Lord British Moustache Cloak (Reliquary Exclusive)
    • Lord British Moustache Helm (Reliquary Exclusive)
    • Lord British Moustache Shield (Reliquary Exclusive)
    • Moustache Shield (Movember Make a Difference Store)
    • Moustache Shield Pattern Pack (Movember Make a Difference Store)
  • Release 48 Postmortem Telethon Items: We have completed all the stretch goal rewards from the R48 Postmortem telethon that were icy themed. For everyone who is eligible, the following items should appear in your bank for claiming in Release 50. You can see if you are eligible in your Account page on the Special Rewards tab: if so, it says “Release 48 Telethon Rewards.”
    • Ice Elemental Statue
    • Ice Hot Tub
    • Icicle Cloak
    • Virtue Ice & Snow Gown
    • Virtue Ice Crown
    • Virtue Ice Shield
    • Virtue Ice Sword
    • Virtue Ice Wand
  • Valentine Items: In honor of Valentine’s Day we have added a couple of rare 2018 items, a recurring Valentine item to the Add-On Store, and a new emote as a quest reward to the Path of Love.
    • 2018 Valentine Gift Boxes (Add-On Store Rare)
    • /iheartyou emote (in-game quest reward on Path of Love)
    • Heart Tub (Add-On Store Recurring + Tagged for Breast Cancer Make a Difference)
• Audio: Note that SFX is an industry acronym for Sound Effects.
  • Randomized SFX: Spells/Abilities now have the function to call a random sound effect from a list of available sound effects versus being hard-coded to a single sound.
  • Audio Fade In/Out: We now have the ability to properly fade SFX in and out so they no longer will start and stop so abruptly. We have applied this to a few of the new spells below but most existing sfx do not yet have this implemented.
  • New SFX: For Release 50, we focused mainly on updating SFX for skills and spells. All of these take advantage of the new randomized SFX tech mentioned above, and have multiple sounds that play randomly each time you cast them (with the exception of some of the spells that involve long windups).
    • Air’s Embrace
    • Break Armor
    • Break Weapon
    • Crushing Blow
    • Death Shield
    • Ground Pound
    • Knock Back
    • Knock Down
    • Meteor Shower
    • Resurrect Creature
    • Resurrection
    • Searing Ray
    • Shield of Crystal
    • Summon Lich
    • Summon Pet
    • Tame Creature
    • Tap Soul
• Localization:
  • Reward Claiming: Fixed confirmation message in Spanish
  • Current Equipment: This tooltip can now be localized.
  • License Agreement: Fixed German text error.
  • Combat Deck Equipped: This text indicator can now be localized.
  • Bedroll: This tooltip can now be localized.
    

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

• Performance: In Release 50, we focused mainly on framerate improvements but there remains much work to do.
• Visual Quality: With the upgrade to wolves and female peasants the visual quality of many of the commonly viewed characters should be greatly improved. With that said, efforts to improve visual quality are ongoing and upcoming visual improvements will include bears and male peasants (among others). We will continue to iterate on these until we have highly competitive visuals.
• Pledge Rewards: Pledge Rewards that have been built and have tech to support them are in the game; all other rewards are awaiting either content creation or tech support. You can find an updated list of these items in the known issues.
• Story Additions: The main storyline is now complete, but some aspects surrounding the main storyline are incomplete. Various side-quests and opportunities to gain or lose virtue are being added each release. Content of this nature will be continually added and improved upon, even beyond the commercial launch of Shroud of the Avatar.

As Lord British often says: “80% of the quality of a game goes in during the last 20% of the development.” We are in that final 20% right now. Be warned that this is a time of great change, but also a time of great improvement! In addition to completing the last few deliverables, the important work ahead of us is refining and tuning the feel of the game. If you are not yet “feeling it,” don’t be alarmed! It is perfectly normal that during this phase of development we are just now getting to the point that we can start delivering that feeling—so stay tuned!

Here are links to instructions and known issues. Thank you again for your continued support. This is truly the most amazing community we have ever worked with, and we are proud to be on this journey with you.

Sincerely,
Starr Long
aka Darkstarr
Executive Producer