Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• New Female Avatar
• Kiln Cistern (a work in progress)
• Final Duke Tour & Round-table
• New Community Manager: Berek
• Spring Telethon Rewards
• Shroud of the Avatar Wax Cylinder Soundtrack Volumes 2 & 3
• Ornate Iron Wall Light 3-Pack
• 68 Day Countdown to Summer 2016 Expiration Event, Part 1
• Community Resources – Players Helping Players
• In-game Community Events
• Upcoming Events
• Backer Shipping Addresses
• Recommended Projects to Back

New Female Avatar

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Kevin “Uglyfist” Wells]

Hello again everyone. First, I want to give many thanks to the community for the flattering and constructive feedback from my last post about the male avatar update. It was a great experience and totally made the work feel worth it with all the positive feedback.

It’s player character polish debut time again, and I’m very excited to say that the female avatar has been updated. Much like the male avatar update, I started from scratch and built and integrated the character over a two-release period.

With this update, the idea was to take what we had, and without completely changing the aesthetic, remake the art in a way that improves the quality but doesn’t completely change the look and feel with which players are already so familiar. Basically, the goal was to keep the female avatar looking as she was before, but with more polish and bit of a push toward an athletic look.

Also, as with the male avatar update, I have to give thanks to Matt Schmitz and Fletcher Kinnear for helping me get this new character working well with animations and all the many equippables.

I hope you guys love it and I can’t wait to hear back from everybody.

Read more…

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• **** UPDATE: Summer 2016 Expirations ****
• The Halls of Artifice (A Work In Progress)
• The Making of Brittany Fields
• Elad’s Lighthouse
• Revamped Headgear
• The Bear, the Bare, and the Maiden, Faire (a Community Event)
• Balloon PoT Connections
• Silver Serpent Pendant Available in a Variety of Metals
• Community Resources – Players Helping Players
• In-game Community Events
• Upcoming Events
• Backer Shipping Addresses
• Recommended Projects to Back

**** UPDATE: Summer 2016 Expirations ****

In order to give our backers the opportunity to upgrade their pledges once they’ve experienced the game post-wipe (see Final Wipe and Lot Selection milestone), we have decided to split the Summer 2016 Expiration Event into Two Parts!

Summer 2016 Expiration Event, Part 1

• At Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC) on July 27, 2016, we are expiring the homes and basements from the Ancestor, Edelmann, Knight Marshal, Lord Marshal, Duke, and Lord of the Manor 2 pledges. We are also expiring new Player Owned Towns (upgrades of existing POTs will continue to be available). All other rewards (including tax free property deeds) that are currently available in the remaining pledges will continue to be available. The final wipe of all game data will also occur at Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC) on July 27th. To commemorate this momentous milestone, we are holding a 12-hour Summer Telethon Part 1, starting at 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC) and running right up to the Final Wipe at Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC).

Summer 2016 Expiration Event, Part 2

• 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 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 (5:00 UTC).

Read more…

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• The Making of Valhold (Castle Interior)
• The Halls of Artifice (A Work In Progress)
• The Making of Brittany Fields
• Merchant Outfit Revamp + Fortified Cloth Gloves & Boots
• The Spring Festival of the Avatar Telethon Results
• Shroud In The News: Richard Garriott and Personal Rapid Transport
• Summer 2016 Expirations
• New Kobold Furniture, Pavers, Streelamps, and Gazebo
• In-game Community Events
• Upcoming Events
• Backer Shipping Addresses
• Recommended Projects to Back

The Making of Valhold (Castle Interior)

This is the continuing update on the progress on Valhold. Valhold is scheduled to go live in Release 30.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Richard “RrMatey” Matey]

Hey guys, I have returned to Valhold after creating the Crypt of the Avatar scene. So the last thing that needs to be completed for Valhold is the interior of the palace. This section of the game is a solo instance and will change depending on the story points of the game. So here are some screenshots of the interior.

Read more…

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• Duel with the Devs During The Spring Festival of the Avatar Telethon!
• Final 3 Days for 15% Bonus & Spring 2016 Pledge Expirations!
• Play Release 29 Now!
• Brittany Video Walk-through
• Crypt of the Avatar
• Meet the Companions (Offline Feature)
• New Player Run Towns: Coastal and Interior Forests
• Shroud In The News: R29 and Richard Garriott at PAX East 2016
• Finn Staber at the Unity Roadshow
• Final Weekend for The Emperors’ and Empresses’ New Clothes
• New Furniture, Trees, In-Door Plants, and Torture Devices
• In-game Community Events
• Upcoming Events
• Backer Shipping Addresses
• Recommended Projects to Back

The Spring Festival of the Avatar Telethon!

For the final day of the 15% Bonus and Spring Expiration Event we are holding a 10 hour Spring Festival of the Avatar Telethon, from 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM Central Time (5:00 PM UTC to 03:00 AM UTC) on Monday, May 2nd. We decided to extend our Spring 2016 Bonus and Pledge Expirations from 10:30 AM until the end of the telethon at 10:00 PM CT.

Read more…

[A SotA Public Forum post by Starr Long]

Greetings 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 29 access for all backers at First Responder level and above begins this Thursday, April 28, at 10:30 AM US Central Daylight Time (15:30 UTC).

As we move ever closer to Final Wipe and Lot Selection, we are rapidly expanding the content and feature set of Shroud of the Avatar. We are also critically appraising our feature set and making sure each and every feature is as it should be for those critical events of Release 32. With those thoughts in mind, we looked at a few key aspects of the game related to housing, crafting, and targeting and made some important changes in Release 29. These changes were not easy, nor were they without controversy, but we believe they are changes that need to be made for the long term health of the project.

One of the main square’s called Quinn’s Peak in Brittany

Read more…

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• Male Cloth Armor Revamps
• Reconnecting with Underground Scenes
• The Halls of Artifice (A Work In Progress)
• Final Lord of the Manor Dinner and Tour
• Richard Garriott in “Streets by VICE: Austin (6th St.)”
• Leostorm’s Church of the Darkstarr
• New Home Decorations
• 10 Day Countdown for 15% Bonus & Spring 2016 Pledge Expirations!
• In-game Community Events
• Upcoming Events
• Backer Shipping Addresses
• Recommended Projects to Back

Male Cloth Armor Revamps

As part of our rework of the Avatars we are steadily progressing through many of the clothing and armor items to improve their visual quality. We periodically update the progress of this effort.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Fletcher “Skullmuncher34” Kinnear]

Hey everybody! More revamps! This time I worked on cloth outfits.

Here is the Epic Cloth Chest Piece, Gauntlets, Leggings, and Boots:

Read more…

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• Making of Central Brittany
• Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 28 Postmortem
• Richard Garriott at Cartoons on the Bay (Venice, Italy)
• Richard Garriott at the Explorer’s Club
• New (Old) Player Homes
• New Boat Decorations
• Lot Deed Sale and Player Owned Town Lot Deeds
• SeleneNoctua’s Video Walkthrough of Skrekk
• The Gallery of Horrors
• Longfall’s R28 End of the World Party
• 17 Day Countdown for 15% Bonus & Spring 2016 Pledge Expirations
• Community Resources – Players Helping Players
• In-game Community Events
• Upcoming Events
• Backer Shipping Addresses
• Recommended Projects to Back

The Making of Brittany

This the continuing update on progress on Brittany. Central Brittany is scheduled to go live in Release 29.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldivar]

CITY OF BRITTANY LAYOUT

Hey guys, SorcerousSteve here to give you an update on the City of Brittany!

As Brittany approaches its final stages, I have compiled a map with all the current player lot locations and interesting locations you will find in the city. In designing Brittany I wanted every section of the city to feel unique, below you’ll see names of neighborhoods and streets that not only give an identity to the different sectors but I hope will help you guys, the players in establishing your homes and identifying with specific areas.

Read more…

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• Announcing the 15% Spring Bonus!
• Male Epic Plate Armor Revamp
• The Halls of Artifice (A Work In Progress)
• Making of Valhold
• Invitation to Release 28 Post Mortem
• Lot Selection Groups
• Hospitallers – Players Helping Players
• Runic Teaching Game
• 24 Day Countdown to Spring 2016 Pledge Expirations
• Backer Shipping Addresses
• In-game Community Events
• Upcoming Events
• Recommended Projects to Back

Announcing the 15% Spring Bonus!

If you were thinking of purchasing (or upgrading) a pledge before they expire, then now’s a great time to do it! Between now and the Spring 2016 Expiration Event, we are offering a 15% Bonus on all new purchases! Here are the details:

For all new purchases (including pledges, pledge upgrades, add-on items, player owned towns, player owned town upgrades, Make a Difference items, service vouchers, and monthly plan payments) between 12:00 am CT April 8, 2016 and 10:30 AM CT, May 2, 2016, we will add an additional 15% bonus to your Store Credit! You can use your Store Credit toward additional purchases (which includes pledges, pledge upgrades, add-on items, player owned towns, and player owned town upgrades).

[NOTE: The 15% bonus is calculated every day at 1:00 pm CT for any purchases within the previous 24 hours and added to your Store Credit account; Any monthly payments paid during the promotion period also receive the 15% bonus; Store Credit cannot be applied toward the purchase of Service Vouchers or Make a Difference items]

You can use the 15% Bonus to save on your next purchase! For example, if you have the $45 Adventurer pledge and really want to upgrade to the $90 Royal Artisan pledge, you would normally pay the extra $45 for the upgrade. But using the 15% bonus you can immediately save $5. To do so, you would first purchase $40 worth of Store Credit Gift Coupons (via PayPal, Amazon, Bitcoin, or credit card; excluding existing Store Credit) then use the “Convert to Credits” option on your account page to transform the Store Credit Gift Coupons into Store Credit. Within 24 hours an additional $6 bonus ($40 x 15%) would be applied to your Store Credit account, bringing it up to $46. You would then use $45 of your Store Credit to upgrade to the $90 Royal Artisan pledge.

Read more…

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• Play Release 28 Now
• Q2-2016 Schedule Update
• Crafting Interface Polish
• Making of Valhold
• Making of Britanny
• News & Videos
• Avatars Radio Presents: DJ FireLotus’ Release 28 Party!
• Gallery of Horrors Grand Opening Tour
• The New Britannia Theatre Troupe Presents: Where is Shooter Jennings?
• Automated Phonographs
• Kobold Homes
• Giant Pavers
• Emperor’s New Clothes
• 31 Day Countdown to Spring 2016 Pledge Expirations
• Backer Shipping Addresses
• In-game Community Events
• Upcoming Events
• Recommended Projects to Back

Play Release 28 Now!

Thanks to community member Ancev for providing this amazing in-game image

Release 28 successfully launched yesterday, March 31, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, logging in, and checking out the new changes! Lots of new content to explore, including:

• Over 40 New scenes including Malice, The Caverns of Skrekk, The Rise, Midras Ruins (PVP), Xenos, etc
• Wisps that guide players to resources
• Crafting Interface Polish and Bulk Crafting
• Craftable Obsidian Weapons and Armor
• New Male Avatar
• Sheet Music
• Kobold Homes
• New Player Owned Town Mountain Template
• Performance Optimizations
• …and much more

Check out the Release 28 Instructions update for detailed information about all the new content. Read more…

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• Making of Valhold
• Artifice (A Work In Progress)
• Mountain Player Owned Town Template
• Broadcast Automated Phonograph
• GDC and SXSW Wrap Up
• Recap “Pronoia” Cross Promotion
• Sandillox Presents: Name That Tune
• 38 Day Countdown to Spring 2016 Pledge Expirations
• Backer Shipping Addresses
• In-game Community Events
• Upcoming Events
• Recommended Projects to Back

Making of Valhold

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Richard “RrMatey” Matey]

Hey guys, started working on a new scene this week VALHOLD! I won’t get too much into the background, I will let you find out when you play and don’t want to spoil anything.

A couple of the main ideas are.
-A once great kingdom that was ransacked by Kobolds, since then it has not been up kept.
-Overgrowth, a castle that is getting devoured by nature.
-Green color palette, all element should be very cohesive and even tied together with vines / plants.
-Vaguely Norse in architecture.

Inspiration Board:

A Broken Wall:

Main Entrance:

Read more…