Update of the Avatar #114 – 2015.02.27: Underworld Funded and Final Week Push, Crowfall Funded, Jabbering Bertha, SotA’s 1st Wedding, Rick’s Spectral Mines, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• Play Release 15 Now!
• Underworld Funded – Now Entering Final Week!
• Crowfall Kickstarter Funded in 3 Days!
• Final Week for Massively Kickstarter
• First Wedding in New Britannia
• Rick Holtrop’s Spectral Mines
• In-game Community Weekend Events
• Sir Frank’s Writing Contest (with Prizes!)
• Receiving Pledge Rewards and Add-On Items
• Changes to Store Credit Conversions
• Steam Access Keys Available for All Backers
• How to Cancel Monthly Layaway Payment Plans
• This Week In The News
• Upcoming Events

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Play Release 15 Now!

Release 15 screenshot courtesy of *Meyaka*[PeV]. Check out more in the Release 15 Screenshot Gallery.

Release 15 successfully launched yesterday, February 26, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, logging in, and checking out the new changes! Lots of new content to explore, including:

• Transitioned to Unity 5, the latest version of the Unity engine
• Travel the Perennial Coast on the Novia Overworld
• 39 new scenes, including Spectral Mines, Verdantis Shardfall, Solania, and Soletown
• 11 new magic and combat skills (including Stealth)
• 20 new crafting skills
• Pledge reward and add-on pets that follow you around
• …and more!

Check out the Release 15 Instructions update for detailed information about all the new R15 content.

The Grand Tour Quest
Just as in our last few releases, we’ve included a Grand Tour Quest designed to guide you through all the new content. You will be able to get the Silver Jester Carnival Mask by completing the Release 15 Grand Tour Quest. This reward can only be unlocked during Release 15 (did someone say rares?), so be sure to log in soon and talk to all the Tour Guides!

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Verdantis Shardfall

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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 Release 15!

If you have not backed the game yet, you will need to register and login at www.shroudoftheavatar.com, select the “Pledge or Send Gift!” button in the right side-bar, and purchase a pledge at the $45 Adventurer level or above. The basic Adventurer level pledge is also available on Steam Early Access.

Release 15 Player Instructions

Release 15 Known Issues

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R15 Patch Notes

Thanks to all our community members that jumped right into Release 15 and started reporting bugs. We’ve already fixed quite a few of them and pushed out several patches. Click here for the most up-to-date Patch Notes.

February 27, 2015

Build Number 229 6:30 PM CST

Notes:

• Fixes for Anti-Aliasing so it does not blur text too much
• Fix for merchant inventories showing up empty and then shutting immediately
• Improved feedback for when a purchase fails with a merchant
• You can now join a party member in a random encounter by double clicking on their marker
• Stealth spells cast while already in combat are not broken by attacks
• Blackblade Pass South Entrance now properly displays name
• Fixed some broken facial hair
• Fix for stealthed characters being too hard to see by the player operating them
• Barriers on Novia Overworld now higher to prevent access to unfinished areas
• Long beards should now sort properly in game
• Fix bug that was preventing some players from logging in
• Solania realtor no longer selling reward deeds, now same as housing NPC in Owl’s Head
• Fixed bug where some cotton nodes were incorrectly named flax
• First room in Chillblain’s Compendium of Doom (aka Challenge Dungeon) is now filled with wolves instead of stags that run out the room
• Help text for vendor proceeds in bank (to fix confusion on how to get your proceeds)
• Particles now longer render when characters are stealthed
• Fixed the encumbrance issue so that it only prevents interactions (harvesting, crafting, etc.) while not able to move and encumbered
• If you die and log out while flagged for PvP the flag will be removed when you log back in. You must return to the Oracle to have it restored.

Known Issues:

• The screen may go completely black except for UI in some cases.  If this occurs, you can open the video options and turn off Tone Mapping as a temporary fix.
• Many pledge, add on, and stretch goal items have not yet been built and/or do not yet have tech support. These will not be complete until later this year
• The update to Unity 5 caused a host of general texture and lighting related issues, and not all of these have been resolved.
• Distant tree billboards may have a white outline that is especially noticeable at night, and some trees may shimmer with white at night.
• Some scenes in the new Novia overworld are missing visible name scrolls, though they can still be entered and explored.
• Bugs in the lighting system during this transition to Unity 5 have degraded performance, especially in large towns like Owl’s Head and Ardoris. This will require a sweeping change so unfortunately won’t be fixed until Release 16.
• Hair is not responding to light correctly
• Skin tone will sometimes not match properly on different parts of the body
• Occlusion in Ardoris is not working properly which will result in places in the city where walls are invisible with nothing visible beyond them

[Complete Patch Notes…]

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If you are new to Shroud of the Avatar we highly recommend taking a few minutes to watch the excellent New Player’s Video Guide from community member The Mad Hermit:

Click here to check out all of The Mad Hermit’s amazing SotA how-to videos!

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Underworld Funded – Now Entering Final Week!

Our long-time friend and former Origin protégé, Paul Neurath, is rebooting the legendary Ultima Underworld games with the Underworld Ascendant Kickstarter campaign, which reached its $600k funding goal today! It has been more than a decade long wait, but the stars have aligned and Paul has at long last freed the rights to move forward with the franchise. We’re especially excited that, just as the original Ultima and Underworld shared a connection on backstory and fictional elements, so too will Shroud of the Avatar and Underworld Ascendant.

We’re teaming up with Underworld Ascendant (UA) so that backers of both games can get special in-game items. We already announced the Dark Elven “Kinsman” Buckler (see below), and this week we’re announcing a new item, Jabbering Bertha!

Jabbering Bertha

When UA reached 10,000 backers, the Chattering Bart reward was added to all UA pledges. Chattering Bart, formerly known as Bartholomew, was the favorite court jester of a long-ago nobleman. Bart was famously sharp-witted. Sadly, Bart drowned in a huge vat of mead one evening after feasting. The nobleman had a necromancer animate Bart’s skull so that, in death, Bart could still chatter up a storm. While wielded in UA, Bart will share his wit and pithy statements with the player, usually at the most inopportune times. Some of Bart’s dialogue are quips penned by UA backers who submit them to OtherSide Entertainment as part of a contest during their Kickstarter campaign!

Well, it turns out that Bart had a wife. After Bart was turned into a chattering skull, his soon to be deceased wife insisted she would be too, and became Jabbering Bertha. The two can talk up a storm! Sadly, Jabbering Bertha got separated from Bart. Indeed, she was taken through a portal to the lands of Shroud of the Avatar. For any players who get Jabbering Bertha as an Add-On in both games, the two will be reunited, and swap some unique quips. Not only that, but Bertha will put on her lipstick for Bart. Please don’t make any ‘lipstick on a pig’ jokes, Bertha can be sensitive about her looks. Jabbering Bertha is currently available in the SotA Add-On Store, and as an Add-On on the Underworld Ascendant Kickstarter page.

Dark Elven “Kinsman” Buckler

This buckler, inscribed with the Dark Elven symbol, has a moonstone gem inset. If a player owns the buckler in both Shroud of the Avatar and Underworld Ascendant, then the moonstone will glow with the warmth of kinship. This signifies that the Dark Elven clans, though sundered between distant worlds, still are one. The Dark Elven Buckler is currently available in the SotA Add-On Store, and as an Add-On on the Underworld Ascendant Kickstarter page.

Otherside Entertainment has surpassed their $600k funding goal, but needs your help during their final week to start hitting their stretch goals! Be sure and check out the Underworld Kickstarter site, and if you are as excited about it as we are, then show your support and make a pledge to Raise the Underworld!

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Crowfall Kickstarter Funded in 3 Days!

Another of our long-time friends and former Origin protégés, Gordon Walton (Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies), has teamed up with J. Todd Coleman (Shadowbane, Wizard 101), to create an awesome sounding game called Crowfall. They describe it as a seamless blend of an MMO with a large-scale Strategy game! Think “…Game of Thrones meets Eve Online”. They’ve enlisted the aid of yet another former Origin protégé, Raph Koster (Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies), as a design consultant!

Game characters are persistent, but the Campaign Worlds are not. Players are Crows – Champions who travel from one world to the next, fighting an endless War of the Gods. There are two types of Worlds in the Crowfall Universe: the Campaign Worlds, which produce materials such as stone, iron, and wood (and last until some “win condition is met” – typically 1 to 3 months), and the Eternal Kingdoms, which are barren of resources — but last forever. When a campaign ends, a victor is declared, the map is wiped and the World goes offline forever. The players – the Crows – then fly back to their Home Worlds, to either count their spoils or lick their wounds before they choose a new Campaign and fight again.

Another really cool feature is that the worlds are made of voxels (like Minecraft, only much smaller) – which means the entire world is destructible. They are harnessing VoxelFarm technology to generate an endless succession of unique and interesting Campaign Worlds for you to mine, shape, conquer and destroy.

Sounds pretty awesome, right? A lot of gamers think so because they reached their $800k funding goal in just 3 days! Check out their Kickstarter page and if you like what you see then help them build Crowfall with your pledge!

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Final Week of Massively Kickstarter

The Massively Kickstarter campaign has surpassed their funding goal and already has their new website up and running, with lots of great articles in the Massively tradition, so check it out if you haven’t seen it yet!

This is the last week of their Kickstarter campaign and they are working toward their $75k Stretch Goal, which includes Convention Coverage. So, head on over to the Massively Overpowered Kickstarter site and if you like what you see then pledge your support!

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First Wedding in New Britannia

Join us in congratulating Roper and Keira on their wedding, this past Wednesday, February 24th. They hold the distinct honor of being the first couple to wed in New Britannia. The wedding was held at the beautiful Lord of the Manor estate of Night Fury and deftly decorated by 4B and Athanil.

Officiation was performed by High Priestess of Chaos Amber Raine and Master Bard Holt Ironfell composed and dedicated the song “Vows & Virtues” to the guests of honor. There were royal visits by Lady Firelotus, Rustica Dragon, Lord Darkstarr, Lord British and other noble dignitaries of the Shroud of the Avatar community; as well as some interesting surprises.

Duke Ezekiel Cooper of the Britannian Mining Company surprised the wedding party by gifting the lucky groom the now infamous “Flaming Sword of Lord British”. This sword is the first enchanted item in the game with the maker’s mark of Lord British!

Thanks to community member The Mad Hermit for creating this video of the momentous event:

“A Bear Tavern wedding without at least one brawl is considered a dull affair.”
-The Mad Hermit

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Rick Holtrop’s Spectral Mines

For Release 15, Rick Holtrop put on his Level Designer hat and crafted the Spectral Mines (part of the R15 Grand Tour Quest):

“Long ago, an effort was made to mine the Spectral Peaks but miners stumbled upon some ancient crypts full of undead. The miners abandoned the unstarted mines, but the Order of the Ebon Dawn have since taken over and seek to resurrect the ancient power of the Obsidians.”

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In-game Weekend Community Events

Our amazing community has another great lineup of in-game events planned for this weekend. Here is the latest schedule of player events from the Avatar’s Circle Community Events calendar and the Events of the Avatars community calendar:

Friday, February 27
7:00pm CST – Dungeon Run – A No-Host Event (Braemar Cemetery)
9:00pm CST – Mass Assassination – 1v1 Double Elimination – By League of Assassins – (Braemar – Arena TBA; details)

Saturday, February 28
9:00am CST – PaxLair Working Hours – Host Winfield (Valemark)
9:30am CST – All Player Towns Gathering – templates (PaxLair, Valmark; “/zone Winfield”; details)
10:00am CST – BMC Recruitment Run (meet Zenie Zen in Braemar)
11:00am CST – Church of the Dark Star – Saturday Service (PaxLair, Valemark; details)
12:00pm CST – Welcome Quest in R15 (NorthShire or “/zone Dara Brae”; details)
2:00pm CST – Owl’s Head Hippodrome Extravaganza (Tantalus Consortium, Owl’s Head Castle; details)
4:00pm CST – All Player Towns Gathering – templates (PaxLair, Valmark; “/zone William Serenite”; details)
6:00pm CST – Oov – Crafting in Vengeance (Brave Coast)
7:00pm CST – Escort the Baroness – PvE Event (“/zone Jenny Phoenixfyre or Kazyn Phoenixfyre)

Sunday, March 1
5:30am CST – Explore Novia with royalsexy (Owl’s Head entrance)
2:00pm CST – MidBoss Beta Launch Event (Salty Dog Cafe – Dungeon Basement – Kingsport or “/zone Kazyn Phoenixfyre or Eniko”)
5:00pm CST – BMC Grid Iron Feast and Registration (details)
6:00pm CST – BMC First Blood at Grid-Iron (details)
7:00pm CST – PaxLair Meeting (Valemark, or “/zone Winfield”)
8:00pm CST – New Britannia Press Meeting (Paxlair and Avatar’s Circle Teamspeak)

Be sure and check out the Release 15 Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events that may not be included here.

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Sir Frank’s Writing Contest (with prizes!)

Community Member Sir Frank is sponsoring a writing contest with winners receiving a $10 Store Credit Coupon, or a Darkstarr/LB coin from Relics by Rild. March 13th is the deadline to enter your writing submission. Check Sir Frank’s forum thread for additional contest details.

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Receiving Pledge Rewards and Add-On Items

Go to any bank to claim your Add-On items and Pledge rewards. There is a banker NPC in every map where there is player housing because when you switch houses or unclaim a lot, all the decorations will go to your bank. In most locations the Town Crier is now also a banker.

Banks are local only. You can see your items in other bank locations (they appear in location tabs), but you can only access the items in the bank you are currently at. Pledge rewards are an exception to this and can be accessed from any location.

[NOTE: there are some Add-On and Pledge reward items that have not been built yet so you may notice some of your items not showing up in your bank. If you delete your character, all equipped and inventory items, including pledge reward items, will be deleted and cannot be recovered until the next wipe]

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Changes to Store Credit Conversions

If you wish to convert any of your purchased Add-On items to Store Credit, you will need to do so before logging into Shroud of the Avatar.

The instant you log into the game all of your available Pledge reward items and available Add-On items will be flagged as “claimed” and deposited in your in-game bank. Once the Add-On items are “claimed” they cannot be converted to Store Credit until the next wipe (which is currently unpredictable). After you’ve logged into SotA, the “Convert to Credits” button on your account page will be deactivated for all those items available in the game, so if you had any plans to sell back some of your Add-On items, make sure you do it before you log into the game!

We intend to change the claiming process in an upcoming Release so that items are not automatically claimed when logging in, but will require you to actively claim them in your bank before they can be used.

If you purchase any new Add-On items, or upgrade your Pledge tier, those new items and upgraded rewards will automatically appear in your in-game bank the next time you log into the game (providing those items are available in the game).

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Steam Access Keys Available for All SotA Backers

SotA successfully launched on Steam Early Access on November 24, and we’ve made Steam Access Keys available to all our backers as part of their basic pledge rewards! Once you’ve redeemed your Steam Access Key you’ll have the option of playing SotA either with the Steam client or the regular game client (or both).

Click here for instructions to redeem your Steam access key and installing the Steam SotA client…

If you play SotA on Steam you can collect the SotA Trading Cards! Collect a full set of SotA trading cards to earn SotA badges, profile backgrounds, and emoticons that help you customize your profile and show off your Shroud of the Avatar gameplay. Check out Steam’s trading card FAQ for more information.

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Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Our goal is to make Shroud of the Avatar the best game we can for you, our backers, and the best way we can do that is by growing our community of backers through the power of word-of-mouth marketing. That’s where we could use your help! With essentially no marketing budget, we rely on things like press coverage and friend-to-friend networking on platforms such as Facebook and Steam. Here’s how you can help us with your word-of-mouth efforts:

If You Like SotA then Like Us On Facebook

Current Facebook Likes: 5,602 (+70 from last week)

Facebook can be a powerful word-of-mouth marketing tool at very little cost, but only if we can reach a large enough network of Facebook users. You can help us to reach a larger Facebook audience simply by going to the Shroud of the Avatar Facebook page and clicking on the “Like” button. If every one of our 50k backers gave us a “Like” the marketing reach of our Facebook posts would be incredible!

If You Like SotA then Write Us a Positive Steam Review

Current Positive Steam Reviews: 303 (+10 from last week)

One of the most important word-of-mouth tools on the massive Steam platform is their user reviews. Many Steam users rely on a game’s Steam reviews to help them decide if they want to play a game or not. If you feel positive about SotA, or feel positive about what SotA may become, even if you have concerns and issues, then please jump over to our Steam Store Page and give us a positive review (and feel free to include your concerns and issues in that review as well)!

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How to Cancel Monthly Layaway Payment Plans and What In-Game Rewards to Expect

Remember that Pledge payment plans are not canceled automatically after reaching the desired pledge. You must manually cancel your monthly payment plan, which can be done at anytime on your SotA Account page. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause, but it is a result of how recurring billing functions with PayPal, Amazon, and Stripe (our credit card service).

If you are on a monthly payment plan, the rewards you receive in-game may not reflect the final pledge tier you are making payments toward, but will reflect the rewards for the current pledge tier that your cumulative monthly payments have reached (your current pledge tier is shown on your Account page on the SotA website).

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This Week In the News

February 20 – MMORPG: Shroud’s Release 14 Walkabout

February 26 – MMORPG Interviews: Release 15 – Unity 5 and Crafting

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Upcoming Events

2015.03.04 – SotA at GDC
2015.03.06 – SotA at PAX East
2015.03.10 – IGDA Austin Meetup at Tech Ranch
2015.03.13 – SotA at SXSW Interactive
2015.03.26 – Release 16
2015.04.03 – Duke & LotM VIP Design Roundtable w/Lord British and Portalarium Studio Tour
2015.04.23 – Release 17
2015.05.21 – Release 18
2015.06.16 – SotA at E3
2015.06.25 – Release 19