Updates

Release 46 Instructions

Starr_avatar

[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 46 access for all Early Access backers begins this Thursday, September 28, at 10:30 AM US Central Daylight Time (15:30 UTC).

Release 46 is the first release where we are starting to truly focus on our Top 10 Priorities for Launch. While we were able to make considerable progress on our targeted work of scene rebuilding, side quest creation, new creature addition, and more, we also began to spend more time on performance than ever before.

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Avatar’s Update #246: The Making of Blackblade Foothills and More Halloween and Oracle Items!

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

The Making of Blackblade Foothills

We have been focusing many of our scene rebuilds (aka “un-clones”) on the lower tier scenes near the cities along the paths of Truth and Courage. These are all Tier 1 – 3 scenes that players encounter near the beginnings of their play experience. In addition to being rebuilt, we are also adding side quests to them. One of the scenes being rebuilt for Release 47 is Blackblade Foothills which is an arid area in the South Paladis region directly southwest of Nightshade Pass.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Chris Wolf]

Hey folks! Today I’ll be sharing a few screenshots of the uncloning of Blackblade Foothills. Blackblade Foothills will be home to a caravan of restless nomads, Kobold prospectors, groups of scorpions, and frequent but powerful dust devils. This scene is still in a very early state, and I’m able to show small portions of the map. You can expect more updates in the future.

The Oasis

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Community Spotlight – Knight’s Watch

This week’s Player Owned Town spotlight takes us to Knight’s watch in Hidden Vale. A bustling suburb of Kingsport, this vibrant coastal town is governed by Astor Cerberus. I (Berek) am about to arrive by boat at the docks to meet with him. Read on as the town folk provide a great tour!

I clamber off the boat to meet a charming promenade of row homes along the water. There is a bustle of commerce as vendors advertise their wares to bystanders. Taking in the view, I notice that Astor is not yet present. Instead, I’m approached by an intriguing looking outlander who introduces herself as Belladonna Rose.

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Avatar’s Update #245: New Scene & Item Content and SeedInvest Perk Screenshots!

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

The Making of Northwest Blackblade Mountains

SPOILERS: For Release 46 we are reworking Blackblade Pass to establish a path through the mountains and underneath the lava that is Tier 2. This involves adding Tier 2 side paths in Southeast Blackblade Mountains and Northwest Blackblade Mountains that connect to the entrances to Blackblade Pass, as well as adding a Tier 2 bypass tunnel in Blackblade Pass itself.

Additionally, we have completely rebuilt Northwest Blackblade Mountains (it was previously a clone of another scene) and it now contains a devastated arid landscape of dragon bones, mesas, sand, and possible dragon encounters!

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Travis “Vas Corp Por” Koleski]

Here’s some early teaser shots of progress on un-cloning the Northwest Blackblade Mountains. Let me know what you think of them!

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Community Livestream – Northwest Blackblade Mountains

Get ready Avatars, this is going to be another fun Friday livestream! We kick it off with updates from Starr Long about the upcoming Release 46, SeedInvest Perks, and more (have a look at Starr and Richard’s just released Dragon Con interview!).

Afterward, Travis “Vas Corp Por” Koleski will give you a sneak peek of the Northwest Blackblade Mountains scene coming in Release 46, and Fletcher Kinnear will show off some cool armor he’s been working on.

Rumor is also going around that Richard Garriott may make an appearance…

The fun begins on Twitch this Friday at 4pm CT. Also join the community watching on Discord chat to ask questions about what’s presented:


Community Spotlight – Serenite Crafting Museum

Recently the player town of Serenite opened the doors on its new Serenite Crafting Museum. The town would like to invite one and all to come browse the museum’s historical artifacts today!

What is a crafting museum? It’s a place where many of the game’s craftable armor and weapons have been collected in one convenient place in an effort to answer all your crafting questions related to the finished product.

Ever wonder what the damage difference is between a short bow and a long bow? How about how much protection does Meteoric chain offer over Iron chain? Just how much difference does it make if you go with Augmented or Fortified? All of these items have been gathered and placed together for your convenience so that you can compare the finished products and make the final decision for the gear you need regardless of if its protection, damage or just what looks the fanciest.

The museum can be found at the top of a hill behind the Serenite main castle:

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Avatar’s Update #244: More News with a Fresh Title!

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

The Making of South Longfall Wetland

We are focusing the next few releases on building the mid-level and lower tier scenes near the cities along the paths of Truth and Courage. Most of these scenes have been clones of other scenes and will now be replaced with completely original scenes.

In Release 46 scenes being updated include South Longfall Wetland which is a Tier 2 swampy area in the Longfall region near Aerie, Crooked Shank (see below) which is a Tier 2 mountainous area in the Verdantis region, and North Shattered Hills (see below) which is a Tier 3 mountainous area in the South Paladis region.

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

Hey folks,

I have a few screenshots of our update to South Longfall Wetland! The new areas includes a maze of poison gas, an abandoned village, a raft flotilla inhabited by pirates, and a secluded witch’s hut. This is still a work in progress, but feel free to leave feedback.

Poison Fields:

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Dragon Con 2017 Cosplay Contest Winners

Congrats to the following Dragon Con Cosplay Contest entries! We announced them originally on yesterday’s R45 Postmortem Telethon. Amazing job to all in coming up with a cosplay costume so quickly for the contest! We are glad you all had a chance to meet Richard and Starr.

Winners, please be sure to reach out to community manager Berek so we can confirm with in-game outfit you would like!

First Place goes to @PhilMarunowski:

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Release 45 Postmortem Mini-Telethon

** $52,000 **

Telethon Funds Raised

Watch live video from shroudoftheavatar on www.twitch.tv

Telethon Stretch Goal Rewards:

  • ACHIEVED! $10K: Virtue Bierkrug (aka Beer Stein) (NOTE: image is placeholder)
  • ACHIEVED! $25K: Virtue Oktoberfest Beer/Pretzel/Sausage Banner
  • ACHIEVED! $35K: Virtue Oktoberfest Tent with Garland Decoration hanging from ceiling
  • ACHIEVED! $50K: Virtue Dirndl: traditional female Bavarian outfit
  • $65K: Virtue Lederhosen: traditional male Bavarian outfit
  • $80K: Virtue Flaming Tuba

Greetings Avatars,

Release 45’s Postmortem Mini-Telethon is going to be Oktoberfest themed in honor of our new Munich, Germany based publishing partners – Travian Games! They will be helping us kick off the livestream. As we announced last month, they are partnering with us to bring Shroud of the Avatar to other regions around the world. Travian Games is lucky enough to be headquartered where THE Oktoberfest happens every year in September, hence our choice of the theme.

This latest telethon continues our new monthly Postmortem Mini-Telethon format, as announced for Release 44 last month. See below for the details!

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Update of the Avatar #243 – 2017.01.09: Play R45, Postmortem Telethon Sep. 6, The Crags and North Shattered Hills, Dragon Con Contest, R44 Raffle Winners, Community Events, and More!

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 45 Now!

Release 45 successfully launched yesterday, August 31, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in to check out the changes! There’s lots of new content to explore, including:

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