Updates

Update of the Avatar #193 – 2016.09.09: Tropical Island POT, Economy Balancing, Testing Incentives Program, Sales Policy Update, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Tropical Island POT Polish

When we launched the Tropical Island Player Owned Town Template in Release 30 back in May, we were moving quickly to get it launched and in the hands of our POT owners. It was based on the Island 01 template and was a simple swap of tree type mostly without really any other major changes. Owners who chose this template were understandably underwhelmed by this variation so we decided that we needed to take another pass at this Island.

Hutch has been working this Release to improve the island and has made a host of improvements. He started by choosing a few different base terrain textures, ones that lend themselves better to a tropical environment. He then chose some additional terrain grasses and ran a process to apply them to the map in order to cover areas that were bare of grass before. He also added some more tree varieties to the map to improve variety and height differences and spread these more thoroughly throughout the map. The biggest changes, however, are an overall increase in foliage density throughout the island to create a more tropical jungle look and the addition of flat beach areas suitable for house placement.

TropicalIslandPOT_rev6
Read more…


Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 33 Postmortem

Join us Friday, September 9th at 3:00 PM Central (20:00 UTC) for our monthly Hangout of the Avatar! The team will be chatting about Release 33 and looking ahead to Release 34.

As always, we will be giving out rare Lord British artifacts of immense power and glory, and answering your latest questions. For a chance to win an artifact, be in Discord chat during the livestream. There will be multiple chances to win throughout the broadcast!

UPDATE! Livestream has concluded. You can now watch the archived recording on YouTube here:

You will also be able to watch directly on YouTube: www.youtube.com/portalarium! The final recording will be archived on YouTube after the event as well.

If you wish to win prizes, be in Discord or IRC chat during the livestream! Post your questions in the comments below. Only one post submission allowed, and keep questions to 3 or less. This will allow us to get to as many players as possible.

Questions and feedback related to this release’s specific topics will be given priority and really verbose questions may be skipped, as they can be a challenge to shorten and summarize live on the air. In brief… please keep your questions… brief.

Tweet with us @ShroudofAvatar during the Hangout!


Update of the Avatar #192 – 2016.09.02: Free Lot Deed Raffle, R33 Postmortem, Estgard Polish, Fireplaces, Elven Bundles, Lord British at Dragon Con

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Free Lot Deed Raffle Tickets in Release 34 Raffle

SotA_FreeLandRaffleAs mentioned in the Release 33 instructions we have begun the distribution of in-game Lot Deeds via Raffles. The raffles will be monthly and for this first month’s raffle we will be handing out 75 Place Anywhere Deeds and 600 Player Owned Town Deeds. Raffle Tickets can be purchased from Home Decoration merchants in various locations throughout the game.

For those backers who do not yet own property we are going to automatically enter you into both Raffles in Release
34! Anyone who has game access to Shroud of the Avatar, but does NOT yet own property at the beginning of Release 34 (September 29, 2016), will automatically be given a gift of 1 Raffle Ticket of each type to the First Raffle. To claim your tickets simply login to the game, go to the nearest bank and claim your rewards. The drawings will be held on October 27, 2016 and winners will be announced shortly thereafter. Deeds will be delivered in Release 35.

Backers are not eligible for this gift if they meet the following criteria on September 29, 2016:

  • Own an Ancestor Pledge or above
  • Own a Viking 2-Story Row Bundle or above
  • Own a Kobold 2-Story Row Bundle or above
  • Own any quantity of Add On Store Deeds
  • Own any deeds won through previous drawings, contests, etc.

SotA_Row_Lot_Property_Deed Read more…



Free Raffle Tickets in Release 34 Raffle

UPDATE: Because the many users had already purchased tickets and the release of these free tickets will change the odds we are port_Lottery_Ticket_POT_Lot_Deed_icondelaying the free tickets until Release 34. See updated text below.

As mentioned in the Release 33 instructions we have begun the distribution of in-game Lot Deeds via Raffles. The raffles will be monthly and for this first month’s raffle we will be handing out 75 Place Anywhere Deeds and 600 Player Owned Town Deeds. Raffle Tickets can be purchased from Home Decoration merchants in various locations throughout the game.

For those backers who do not yet own property we are going to automatically enter you into both Raffles in port_Lottery_Ticket_Place_Anywhere_Lot_Deed_iconRelease 34! Anyone who has game access to Shroud of the Avatar, but does NOT yet own property at the beginning of Release 34 (September 29, 2016), will automatically be given a gift of 1 Raffle Ticket of each type to the First Raffle. To claim your tickets simply login to the game, go to the nearest bank and claim your rewards. The drawings will be held on October 27, 2016 and winners will be announced shortly thereafter. Deeds will be delivered in Release 35.

Backers are not eligible for this gift if they meet the following criteria on September 29, 2016:

  • Own an Ancestor Pledge or above
  • Own a Viking 2-Story Row Bundle or above
  • Own a Kobold 2-Story Row Bundle or above
  • Own any quantity of Add On Store Deeds
  • Own any deeds won through previous drawings, contests, etc.SotA_Row_Lot_Property_Deed

Update of the Avatar #191 – 2016.08.26: Play Release 33 Now!, Summer Telethon Results, $10M Backer Gift, Lot Deed Raffle, Swamp Island POT, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Play Release 33 Now!

SotA_StarCitizen_Airship_City_Home

Release 33 successfully launched yesterday, August 25, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in and checking out the new changes! There’s lots of new content to explore, including:

  • New uncloned scenes including Port Graff and Estgard
  • New User Experience Polish, including a reworked Bloodriver
  • New NPC Behaviors and Polish in Ardoris and Spite
  • More Random Encounters (dragon!)
  • Lot Deed Raffle
  • Portable Aether Vibration Amplifier World Starting Gift
  • Lots of new emotes
  • Summer Telethon Part 1 Rewards

…and much more

Read more…


Release 33 Instructions

[A SotA Public Forum post by Starr Long]

Starr_avatarAvatars,

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 33 access for all backers at First Responder level and above begins this Thursday, August 25, at 10:30 AM US Central Daylight Time (15:30 UTC).

Impact of Persistence:
Release 33 is our first Release since we went Persistent with Release 32. Being persistent of course has had an impact on the project and how we move forward. We made the tactical decision that the immediate needs of R32 would take precedence over any R33 work. Quality of life, balance issues, exploits, stability, performance, etc. in R32 would be patched regularly, daily if needed, even if it cost us some R33 deliverables. The result of this decision has been incredibly positive. Overall player mood remains high as does our funding, which reached an astounding $10 Million during our Summer Telethon of the Avatar Part 2 (which by itself raised $200K!) This funding will allow us to finish the Roadmap we outlined earlier this year that both finishes our Kickstarter promises, while at the same time polishes the game to a very high standard. Thank you community for your incredibly humbling generosity.Port Graff 4

Read more…


‘Dawn of New Britannia’ Trailer Contest Results!

Wow! We had an outstanding community trailer contest this month. All submissions were truly fantastic and a pleasure to watch. Our team struggled mightily in narrowing it down to only three winners, as each entry was done well and were quite unique from each other. In fact, the debate over first and second place continued until the very last moment!

Well done participants! We present to the community the winners of the contest:
  

1st Place goes to Ember for ‘New Britannia Awaits’:

Ember receives: $1,000 Store Credit, SotA signed t-shirt, Sword of Midras hardcover book, SotA COTOs coin, and a specially signed congratulations letter from Richard Garriott.
  

2nd Place goes to Net for ‘Experience Shroud of the Avatar’:

Net receives: $500 Store Credit, SotA signed t-shirt, Sword of Midras hardcover book, SotA COTOs coin
  

3rd Place goes to Selene for ‘Welcome to New Britannia!’:

Selene receives: $250 Store Credit, SotA signed t-shirt, Sword of Midras hardcover book, SotA COTOs coin

You can view all entries in the contest in a playlist at youtube.com/portalarium. Note that the order of the trailers in the playlist is not in order of those we selected, except for the top 3 winners placed at the top of the list.

Congrats again to the winners, and to all that created a beautiful Shroud of the Avatar trailer for the community! For more about the contest, visit the Contest Announcement Article.


The Summer Telethon of the Avatar Part 2

Summer Telethon Part 2Avatars! Are you ready to continue celebrating with us the biggest event to hit New Britannia since the great cataclysm?

At Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC) on August 22, 2016, we are expiring ALL remaining pledges, including: Adventurer, Founder, Royal Artisan, Explorer, Ancestor, Edelmann, Knight Marshal, Lord Marshal, Duke, and Lord of the Manor 2. To commemorate the final expiration of all remaining pledges, we are holding the 12-hour Summer Telethon Part 2, starting at 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC) and running right up to the Final Pledge Expirations at Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC).

You can pre-post your questions right here in the article’s comments section, or post questions during the telethon in Discord chat.*

What exciting events can you expect throughout the day? An array of fun activities and engaging content, many of which you can directly participate in with us in-game! We will also be giving away a ton of fabulous prizes*, and if the following stretch goals are met, we will be adding amazing new content into the game.

Did you see what was unlocked during last month’s telethon? Let’s make it happen again in Part 2!

Help us to achieve the following goals during the telethon!QuestionMark_

As a special bonus, we are offering Telethon Funding Stretch Goal Rewards to any backer that pledges a minimum of $5 from the start of the telethon, until Midnight (Spending Store Credit to make $5 minimum purchase does not apply). The Summer Telethon of the Avatar Funding Stretch Goal Rewards are:Exclamation_Point

  • Achieved!  $10,000: /aeroplane emote
  • Achieved!  $25,000: ? and ! Hats
  • Achieved!  $35,000: Aeronaut Outfit
  • Achieved!  $50,000: Accordion musical instrument
  • Achieved!  $65,000: Mini Automaton Pet
  • Achieved!  $80,000: Baby Clockwork Dragon Pet
  • Achieved!  $100,000: /camera emote with Tin Type Camera (takes tin type black & white screenshots)
  • Achieved!  $130,000: Clockwork Armor (helmet has built in radio)
  • Achieved!  $150,000: Flaming Bagpipes (musical instrument) with Metal and Leather Kilt
  • Achieved!  $175,000: Weather Changing Clockwork Umbrella
  • Achieved! $200,000: /firedance emote with Leather Outfits

Aeronaut Outfit


Read more…


Update of the Avatar #190 – 2016.08.19: Final 3 Days for 15% Bonus & All Pledge Expirations!, Monday Telethon, NPC Submissions, Land Rush Update, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

timeIsRunningOut6

Final 3 Days for 15% Bonus & All Pledge Expirations!

As we march toward the conclusion of the Great Land Rush, we are preparing for Part 2 of our Summer 2016 Expiration Event and the end of the 15% Summer Bonus Promotion!

Summer 2016 Expiration Event, Part 2

  • At Midnight CDT on August 22 (5:00 UTC August 23), 2016, we are expiring ALL remaining pledges, including: Adventurer, Founder, Royal Artisan, Explorer, Ancestor, Edelmann, Knight Marshal, Lord Marshal, Duke, and Lord of the Manor 2. To commemorate the final expiration of all remaining pledges, we are holding a 12-hour Summer Telethon Part 2, starting at 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC) and running right up to the Final Pledge Expirations at Midnight CDT August 22 (5:00 UTC August 23).

Get Your 15% Summer Bonus!

If you were thinking of purchasing (or upgrading) a pledge or Player Owned Town before they expire, then now’s a great time to do it! For all new purchases (including pledges, pledge upgrades, add-on items, player owned towns and upgrades, Make a Difference items, and service vouchers) between 12:00 am CDT June 24, 2016 and Midnight CDT August 22 (5:00 UTC August 23) , 2016, we’ll add an additional 15% bonus to your Store Credit!

BETTER HURRY, ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT! Read more…