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

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

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

Play Release 51 Now!

Release 51 successfully launched yesterday, February 22, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in to check out the changes! There’s lots of new content to explore, including:

…and much more!

Check out the Release 51 Instructions update for detailed information about all the new content.

We need all your help with testing the new patches, putting more stress on our multiplayer servers, and testing the new game content, so please join us in playing this Release!

If you have not backed the game yet, go to www.shroudoftheavatar.com and click the “Play Now” button. Game Early Access is also available on Steam Early Access.

Release 51 Player Instructions

Release 51 Known Issues

Here are what some players are saying about the release so far:

I <3 you all. Release 51 is wonderful, absolutely wonderful: Quest item highlights, vendor customization, FPS improvements over last 4 releases are amazing Wow. Will miss bag mode, but honestly never used it adventuring…

– Daigoji Gai

Another release filled with steps in the right direction . I am very happy to have backed this game so long ago and totally get how we got to this point thru the winding road of development. Love the specialization and the addition of the Lost Vale. Appreciate the hard work the team has done all along. Looking forward to Heraldry next release.

– Sean Silverfoot

Lost Vale looks amazing! The quality of the scenes has really gone up over time, lost vale should get as much promo ad time as possible! 

– devourerofmemes

A lot of us may not say it often enough but we appreciate all the work you guys put into this. While we may not agree with every decision we continue to respect and love the game, and the team’s vision. This latest release is a fantastic achievement and we’re looking forward to launch with barely-bundled excitement!

– kaeshiva

Exciting times, indeed. Way to go, Portalarium. R51 lookin’ stellar. Death/fire specialization here I come. Burn and bury ’em, I say! :cool:

– Thexedor Markhamm

Super excited about this release! Proficiency is going to be a game changer. Bring it on! Huzzah!

– Kain Darkmoor

Thank you for another awesome release, @DarkStarr ! All those polishing, contents adding and fixing really makes me feel like the official release date is drawing near. Hats off to all Portalarium devs for their hard work!

– Max Bennis

The Making of South Midmaer Way (cont.)

South Midmaer Way is a Tier 2 scene located in the very center of the Midmaer region. It used to be the location of a thriving city with lovely canals on the shore of a large lake in an otherwise arid region. The city grew rich on trade through the area as it sat astride the main road. The rulers of the city built tombs to themselves amongst the cliffs and hid their treasures in them, defended by traps of course! However the lake dried up and the town was abandoned. Now opportunistic Satyrs have set up a bazaar in the ruins and Plunderers raid the tombs.

[From a A Dev+ Forum Post by Chris “Sea Wolf” Wolf]

Hey folks, I have a few more updated screenshots to share! Enjoy!

Entrance to the Tomb of the Child King

The Tomb of the Child King

Plunderer Airship

Satyr Living Quarters

The Docks

Chris Wolf
Level Designer

Spring 2018 Items

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

Greetings Avatars,

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

2018 Lepus Mask

SXSW Latest News: Booth Details and Book Signing!

SXSW Gaming Expo released the Expo floor map late last week and we are primely located between the PC Arena and Esports Tournament Stage (also conveniently near the bathrooms)!

We will have four Alienware PCs where you can play the game, a large flat screen TV looping videos, and free giveaways during the entire show! Joining us in the booth as well will be our partners at Meretz (fitness app) and the Aerie Fund.

Additionally SXSW Interactive just added a book signing event on March 13 where Richard will be signing copies of his book Explore / Create!

This is just part of an incredibly dense schedule that includes multiple talks and our launch event at the Bob Bullock Museum. Wristbands to attend the Gaming Expo are only $39 through March 9!

Mar 13, 2018 – SXSW Interactive: Overhead Transit: Cable, Hyperloop, PRT & Drones
Mar 13, 2018 – SXSW Interactive: Richard Garriott Book Signing
Mar 14, 2018 – Launch Event at Bob Bullock Museum
Mar 15, 2018 – SXSW Interactive: $100,000 Blockchain Investment Challenge
Mar 15, 2018 – SXSW Gaming: It’s Here! Shroud of the Avatar and What’s Coming Next
Mar 15 – 17, 2018 – SXSW Gaming Expo Booth 2516
Mar 17, 2018 – SXSW Gaming: The Ever-Evolving Nature of Game Crowdfunding

NPC Submission Request: Graff Island

Earlier this week Scott “Lum” Jennings posted our latest request for NPC submissions for Graff Island. This is for Developer+ level backers who are eligible for the “Design an NPC” reward “Help create and name a character in the game”.

For reference here is our current status on which towns we have done this work on and which towns remain to be done:

Done:

  • Aerie
  • Ardoris
  • Braemar (no backer NPCs)
  • Desolis
  • Estgard
  • Etceter
  • Jaanaford
  • Kiln
  • Kingsport (no backer NPCs)
  • Owl’s Head (no backer NPCs)
  • Resolute
  • Solania (no backer NPCs)
  • Soltown (no backer NPCs)
  • Spite
  • Xenos
  • Yew

In progress:

  • Graff Island

To be done:

  • Bramble
  • Brittany and suburbs
  • Broochash
  • Brookside
  • Celestis
  • Eastmarch
  • Elad’s Lighthouse
  • Fortus End
  • Goti
  • Mud
  • Noreach
  • Northwood
  • Point West
  • Port Graff
  • Storm’s Reach
  • Westend

GRAFF ISLAND:

Humility[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Scott “Lum” Jennings]

Thank you for your continuing support of Shroud of the Avatar! This month, we’re seeking entries for inhabitants of Graff Island!

Graff Island is the home of the spectacularly wealthy Graff family. Their patriarch, Lauran Graff, discovered the secret magic locked within the games found in his namesake mine, and mages throughout the realm seek out Mystic Graff Gems for the potency of their spellcrafting. This has made the Graff’s private island a popular and wealthy retreat – both for those wanting a bit of safety off the beaten track, and for those wishing to find a way to reach the notorious Master Graff himself!

Graff Island is the only town we will be seeking submissions from for R52, due to other work being done this release. If you do NOT want your backer NPC to be in Graff Island, you may want to wait. I will update this thread if we are running low on submissions – generally we are OK on duplicate submissions for characters who don’t get adopted (such as guards) but if you absolutely have a character who should be in a given city (such as Brittany) you should wait until we advertise for that city.

First, some brief notes:

  • Graff Island is one of our “uncloning” scenes, where we go back and fill out unique content for each village and city. Thus, the NPCs are already in the game, but we can change appearance (to a degree, as seen below), gender, etc. to suit your request. If you want to pick a specific NPC (for example, one near your own house) we will do our best to accomodate you but may not be able to.
  • NPC visual customization, as you may have noticed, is still at a very early stage in development. Right now for the backers who want to be added to Graff Island, we cannot offer any visual customization options beyond our standard gallery of NPC models. If you would like to have input over the visual customization of your NPC, you can wait for further releases when we can offer this. We will also allow a one-time visual re-customization once customization has been added if you would like to add your NPC now.
  • Response to this will be on a first-come first-served basis for each call for responses. If your NPC doesn’t appear in Graff Island, feel free to respond again in future posts. We have quite a few towns and cities to populate (over 18, actually…)
  • We are allowing people who have already submitted NPCs to submit their ideas for Graff Island as well if they like, but people who have not yet submitted an NPC will take priority over those who have.
  • When responding, please list a first and second choice for profession.
  • There are a few NPCs which already have been placed as part of the main quest (Lauran Graff, etc.) which will not be changed.
  • NPCs for Graff Island can be human. And no, you can’t be related to the Graffs. :)

Still with us? Great! Here’s what we need for Graff Island:

  • 8 7 guards
  • 2 1 innkeepers
  • 3 1 waiters / waitresses
  • 1 crafting supplies merchant
  • 1 housing deeds merchant
  • 1 housing decorations merchant
  • 1 magic supplies merchant
  • 1 blacksmith
  • 1 combat trainer
  • 1 crafting trainer
  • 1 banker
  • 1 town crier
  • 1 public vendor

If you’d like to have your namesake be a resident of Graff Island please respond via private message on this forum to me (Lum) using the following format:

  • NPC name:
  • NPC gender:
  • NPC profession (first choice):
  • NPC profession (second choice):
  • NPC background (optional): A paragraph on whom your NPC is, how they would respond to nosy outlanders poking about their business, what brings them to Graff Island (or keeps them there), or anything else you’d like to add. We reserve the right to edit and/or reject any background that does not fit the lore and setting of the game.

Please specify in your submission that this NPC is for Graff Island.

We will respond if: your NPC is used; if it is rejected for whatever reason (such as an inappropriate name); if a supplied background is inappropriate, or if your NPC missed the cutoff for this release.

Please note this is a reward for Founder era Developer level or above pledges.

Thanks for your support, and hope you find a gem in Graff Island!

R51 QA Testing Incentive Winners

Thank you to everyone who joined us during the latest round of QA Server testing for the launch of Release 51! We are incredibly thankful for the community’s contribution in helping our team test new content and make sure every Release launches as smoothly as possible.

The following winners have been randomly drawn and prizes delivered to their game accounts! Prize pool includes gold crowns, ant farm, antennae, bug cloak, and set of bug paintings.

  • Scoffer – Antennae Hat
  • Ancev – Antennae Hat
  • mystarr – Antennae Hat
  • Pawz – Antennae Hat
  • Brass Knuckles – Ant Cloak
  • sotavirtues – Ant Cloak
  • Ajivani – Ant Cloak
  • Rinaldi – Ant Cloak
  • Sheamus McGuinness – Insect Painting Set
  • SpotD – Insect Painting Set
  • Archer – Insect Painting Set
  • Applerust – Insect Painting Set
  • Asbury Baker – 5 Gold Crowns Testing Reward
  • Duke Gréagóir – 5 Gold Crowns Testing Reward
  • Fruck – 5 Gold Crowns Testing Reward
  • Lao Tzu – 5 Gold Crowns Testing Reward
  • Duke Lorimus – Ant Farm
  • Mystic – Ant Farm
  • Doctorface – Ant Farm
  • Boradic Boneslasher – Ant Farm

Thank you EVERYONE, again, for contributing to another fantastic release!

Want to participate for a chance to win prizes in the next release? Here’s how!

URGENT: Confirm Your Physical Rewards Shipping Address!

SotA_ShippingAddress

We are extending the deadline to confirm your physical address to March 9, 2018.

If you are receiving physical goods as part of pledge rewards, and have not yet confirmed your physical address, please do so now.

For those who are receiving physical goods and have confirmed their physical addresses, you will receive another email from us stating the shipping address we have for you on file. At that time, please verify we have the correct address.

Please see your account Profile Settings page to update your mailing address.

  • Scroll down to Shipping Address.
  • Input your Name and Address.
  • Click “Update Profile”.
  • If you are presented with alternate addresses, please confirm the correct one.

For shipments outside the United States, you must have an International Shipping Voucher listed on your account. If you do not, you can purchase one here.

We will keep you posted on the official Shroud of the Avatar website, forums, and Kickstarter page with any new information, such as a more specific shipment date.

If you have any issues along the way, please email support@portalarium.com.

Thank you for your patience! We could not have made Shroud of the Avatar without your support!

Release 51 Postmortem Telethon

Greetings Avatars,

The R51 Postmortem Telethon is coming up fast on March 2 from 3-7pm CT! Starr’s birthday is also coming up (March 12), so we’re celebrating with some Darkstarr themed stretch goals! We are also expiring a bunch of items with major changes to the store immediately after the telethon including changes to crown pricing, bundle pricing, and available inventory. See the forum announcement on these changes for more details.

LIVESTREAM SCHEDULE (Central Time Zone)

Telethons are livestreamed on Twitch and include answers to your gameplay questions, world building tours, prize giveaways, sales on items, and more! Here is the schedule:

  • 3PM: Introductions and Postmortem Q&A
  • 3:45PM: Deep Dive 1: Combat
  • 4:30PM: World Building Tour: New Scenes & Side Quests
  • 5:30PM: Deep Dive 2: Physical Goods
  • 6:15PM: Postmortem Q&A Continues
  • 7PM: Ending Announcements

Schedule is subject to change. Check back here before the telethon begins!

EXPIRING ITEMS:

STRETCH GOALS (Darkstarr Themed!)

As a special bonus, we are offering funding rewards to any backer that pledges a minimum of $5 for twelve hours during the day of the telethon, on March 2 from 12:00 PM to 11:59 PM CT (Spending Store Credit to make $5 minimum purchase does not apply) .

NOTE: While the livestream ends at 7pm CT, everyone will have until 11:59 PM CT to spend $5 to get the stretch goals. We will announce the final total on the following day.

  • $10K: /mosh (The ultimate chaotic dance!)
  • $25K: Darkstarr Morningstar
  • $35K: Darkstarr Pavers: pavers with Darkstarr symbol
  • $50K: Darkstarr Throne
  • $65K: Darkstarr Clocktower (Darkstarr loves watches!)
  • $80K: Darkstarr Black Chain Armor: Special chain version of the custom armor in the Darkstarr Concept painting

*Please keep in mind that stretch goal rewards take time to develop and will most likely not be available in-game until Release 53 at the earliest. We will keep you updated!

CHEER ON THE DEVS!

StarrDancingFor every $2,500 donated, all devs on camera have to dance, sing, or perform some other act of amazement.

Additionally, we will be spinning the Wheel of Fortune! The wheel will have 12 different categories of sales plus the Lord British and Darkstarr wildcards where they get to choose any category! Each time a category comes up it will go on sale at approx. 20% off for 1 hour.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE FLASH SALES:

WIN THESE GREAT PRIZES!

  • In-game items!
  • Bank Upgrades
  • COTOs
  • RelicsbyRild.com merchandise
  • and a bunch of items we will announce on the livestream!

We will be giving prizes away on an hourly basis with many being given away multiple times. If you wish to win prizes during the event, be in Discord chat! We will be active on Twitch and YouTube chats as well, but they will not be our portal for prize giveaways.

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS!

We will be answering questions throughout the livestream, so submit them in the comments section of the original post at this link (not this weekly update!) or on Discord chat during the event.

Please do NOT post questions containing:

  • More than 3 questions in total
  • Bugs or other problems best posted in the bug forums
  • “When is this coming” or anything related to schedule (for those answers please refer to our quarterly updates or our post release plans)
  • Questions with more than a couple of sentences. Please keep them brief! We will likely understand the context of your interest, so just ask the question and we’ll be able to respond.

For bug reports and extra idea suggestions, please use the forums for this purpose.

A Final Thought: We see a LOT of repeat questions and requests. Please consider reading one of the  other missed question posts, watching one of the previous post mortems, reading one of the post mortem transcripts, and/or reading our Post Episode 1 plan post before posting a question. Your question might have already been answered.

Keep an eye on @ShroudofAvatar for updates before, during, and after the livestream. See you on Twitch at 3:00 PM CT on March 2!

Community Livestream: DJing & Questing

We switched the plan for this week’s livestream to show off the new DJ tables and emotes, and then adventured through the Resolute Sewers, Solania Catacombs, and Bunker T on a grand quest!

As always, we gave away some in-game prizes to those who watched during the livestream.

For more livestreams and gameplay videos, be sure to subscribe to www.youtube.com/portalarium!

Free Trial: Choose Any Path!

With Release 50, 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.).

Free Trial access allows you to play the entire game in any of the Online modes with a few key differences in game play. You will be able to explore hundreds of scenes, talk with thousands of players, adventure through the opening quests, and gain experience and skills as you get used to the world of New Britannia!

Here is the updated list of Visitor limits:

  • The term (Visitor) is appended to their character name
  • Max skill level set to 50
  • NEW! Limited to a single Story Path (Truth, Love or Courage)
  • Cannot purchase nor sell items via Player Vendors nor Public Vendors
  • No ownership of player property nor use of player property signs
  • Cannot move/interact with items on a player property (even if given permissions)
  • Cannot interact with public chests
  • Cannot give items to other players via Trade or Mail
  • Cannot flag as Open PVP
  • Cannot gain nor create ransom items when you kill or are killed in PVP (in Open PVP zones)
  • Character data may be deleted if not eventually upgraded to a paid account
  • Cannot play in Offline Mode

Join us in New Britannia for free today!


Job Opening: Executive Assistant

Thank you for your interest in Portalarium! We currently have an opening in Austin, Texas for a full-time, Executive Assistant position, as described below. If you’d like to join the Portalarium Tribe, the team building the ground-breaking Shroud of the Avatar game, please submit your resume/cover letter to: jobs@portalarium.com

Job Summary:

Assisting founder/CEO with company and personal administrative tasks including: managing calendars, making travel plans, meeting and event arrangements, payment and filing of invoices, managing mail, preparation of reports, and errands. General office administration tasks include coordinating general office activities and operations, maintain stocks of office supplies, manage phone calls and general office correspondence (e-mail, letters, packages etc.), support budgeting and bookkeeping procedures, create and update records and databases with personnel, financial and other data, assist colleagues whenever necessary.

Responsibilities and Duties:

  • Assist founder/CEO with company and personal administrative tasks including: managing calendars, making travel plans, meeting and event arrangements, payment and filing of invoices, managing mail, preparation of reports, and errands.Coordinating general office activities and operations
  • Assist executive staff and colleagues whenever needed
  • Maintain stocks of office supplies
  • Manage phone calls and general office correspondence (e-mail, letters, packages etc.)
  • Support budgeting and bookkeeping procedures
  • Create and update records and databases with personnel, financial and other data

Qualifications and Skills:

  • Minimum 2 years experience as an executive assistant to a C-level executive
  • Has a professional writing style that represents Portalarium and CEO well
  • Able to follow creative/technical/business conversations
  • Ability to craft business correspondence, as well as ~750 word articles when provided general ideas to develop
  • When given research materials or a publicly available topic to research, will be able to conduct search and summarize key points on a topic efficiently.
  • Able to efficiently translate assigned tasks (verbal or written) into prioritized checklists/schedules and can effectively manage those checklists/schedules.
  • Is able to self-organize and self-prioritize when necessary
  • Expert Outlook Calendar management, able to clearly detail pertinent event information
  • High attention to detail
  • High adaptability & takes feedback well
  • Self-driven with high work ethics, able to stay focused on work-related tasks, seeks out tasks during down time.
  • High level of self-reliance
  • Willingness to tackle all kinds of tasks for any and all admin needs
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Windows environment and Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word), Adobe Acrobat, Docusign, etc.
  • OPTIONAL: Basic accounting including use of Quickbooks
  • OPTIONAL: Familiarity with Google Docs, Google Sheets, Dropbox, Slack, and JIRA

This position starts as a full-time contract position with potential transition to full-time employee within 6-12 months. Once the transition to employee occurs, then the employee position includes company paid medical, dental, and vision through United Healthcare.

Job Types: Full-time, Contract

Salary: $15.00 to $22.50 /hour

Upcoming Events Calendar

Mar 2, 2018 – Release 51 Postmortem
Mar 13, 2018 – SXSW Interactive: Overhead Transit: Cable, Hyperloop, PRT & Drones
Mar 13, 2018 – SXSW Interactive: Richard Garriott Book Signing
Mar 14, 2018 – Launch Event at Bob Bullock Museum
Mar 15, 2018 – SXSW Interactive: $100,000 Blockchain Investment Challenge
Mar 15, 2018 – SXSW Gaming: It’s Here! Shroud of the Avatar and What’s Coming Next
Mar 15 – 17, 2018 – SXSW Gaming Expo Booth 2516
Mar 17, 2018 – SXSW Gaming: The Ever-Evolving Nature of Game Crowdfunding
Mar 21 – 23, 2018 – GDC: Classic Game Postmortem: ‘Ultima Online’
Mar 27, 2018 – Release 52: Launch Candidate
April 26, 2018 – Release 53
May 31, 2018 – Release 54
June 28, 2018 – Release 55
July 26, 2018 – Release 56
Aug 21 – 25, 2018 – Gamescom
Aug 30, 2018 – Release 57

Visit the official Community Calendar to see the great lineup of activities our amazing community has planned for this weekend! And be sure to check out this month’s Release Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events.

The Magnificent Trophy Rooms Contest Final Weekend!

It’s the final weekend to submit your Trophy Room! You have the fun opportunity to show off your hunting heroism, crafting coordination, and trophy triumphs in this new three part contest.

Adding on to last year’s trophy room contest, we now have the wild boars and updated wolves to make into new trophies! Here’s how the contest will work…

PART 1: Hunt down a creature, defeat another player (to get their skull), or catch a fish!

PART 2: Craft the trophy from that creature (human skulls come as-is, no preparation needed…)

PART 3: Display your trophy triumphs in a single room of a house you have access to!​

Submissions Must Include:

  • 2-3 screens of combating a creature that can provide a trophy (1x with UI, 1x without)
  • 2-3 screens of you in the crafting process for creating the trophies (2x with UI)
  • 3 screens of your trophy room (1x with UI, 2x without UI, different angles, lighting, etc.)
  • Brief one paragraph description for each screenshot category. Please include as much basic detail about the location and other statistics that might be useful for others wanting to hunt the area to craft their own trophies.

Submit all screenshots in a single post response to This Forum Thread. Deadline to submit is Monday, Feb. 26 at 11:59pm CT.

[Read More…]

Event: R51 Welcome Quest in New Haven

Welcome Quest

You are invited to join the Welcome Quest in Release 51. It will be held on Saturday, February 24, 2018 starting at 12pm (Noon) CT and lasting an hour. Greagoir Pendragon will be active 30 minutes before the event and during the event. We are traveling to the town of New Heaven. Located just east of Brittany along the coast.

Join us!

Getting Started Video: Movement, Skills, & Combat Tutorial

This week we spotlight Vladamir Begemot’s ‘Movement, Skills, & Combat Tutorial’ video from the recent walkthrough video creation contest! Watch it below:

For more walkthrough videos, subscribe to www.youtube.com/portalarium to get the latest releases. If you have a video to share, we’ll add it to the list!

Recommended Projects to Back – Crowfall

Crowfall is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), a game that is played online in a persistent, shared environment with thousands (and thousands, and thousands…) of other players.

In this ‘Throne War Simulator’, characters are persistent but the campaign worlds are not, thanks to voxel tech which enables fully-destructible settings. A seamless blend of an MMO with a large-scale strategy game, players are immortal champions, traveling between realms to fight in an eternal War of the Gods.

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.