Update of the Avatar #147 – 2015.10.16: Farewell Greystone One, Eniko’s Musical Showcase, Vertas, Etceter, Hilt, Gallery of Horrors, Spooky Bundles, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• Farewell Greystone One
• Eniko’s Musical Instruments Showcase
• Vertas
• Etceter
• The Fortress at Hilt in Nightshade Pass – Part 3
• The Gallery of the Wonderful Horrors
• Think Small!
• Spooky Bundles
• Things are Heating Up!
• The Blocks are Back
• 17 Day Countdown for Fall Reward & Sale Expirations
• Get Your 15% Black Friday Bonus
• Auto-Canceling Monthly Layaway Payment Plans
• In-game Community Weekend Events
• Upcoming Events
• Recommended Games to Back

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Farewell Greystone One

In May 2013, just a few weeks after our successful Kickstarter campaign for Shroud of the Avatar, we moved in to Suite 300 of the Greystone One building, nestled in the hills and trees of north-central Austin. It is hard to believe that two and half years have passed since that move. It has been a tremendously exciting journey we’ve traveled with all of you during this time! We’re on the verge of launching our 23rd monthly Release, our backer community has grown from the initial 22k to over 56k, and the ongoing backer contributions have fueled our team growth over the years, not all of who are still with us, but whose contributions will live on forever!

The lease in our current office expires the end of this month, October 31st, and it is with a nostalgic heart that we bid farewell to these rooms and corridors that hold so many cherished memories of this historic path that we are travelling with all of you.

Today is the last day in our Greystone One offices. As I put the finishing touches on this Update #147, my officemates are packing up their boxes, getting ready for the big move to our new offices tomorrow. In order to conserve our backer funding, we are moving ourselves, just as we moved here originally. In the spirit of a true crowdfunded project, several of our local backers, and some not so local, have volunteered to help us move. Jack Frost and Kacey from here in Austin, Winfield is up from San Antonio, Jack Knyfe is down from Dallas, TX, Duke Ezekiel and a whole cadre of BMC members are in from Oklahoma and all points of the country. It is truly heartwarming to see the outpouring of support that our community has, not only for this project, but for each of us personally on this team, doing whatever they can, to help us as we all travel this journey together!

Here are a few pictures from earlier today, starting with our last morning Standup meetings to be held in our Greystone office (the guy in the black cowboy hat is Duke Ezekiel in-town for the BMC event, and to help us move), and Devs packing up their desks at the end of the day.

Next week we’ll share some photos of our new offices at One Far West and the move that’ll be taking place this weekend. Stay tuned…

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Eniko’s Musical Instruments Showcase

Community member Eniko, created this wonderful video showcasing the Shroud of the Avatar musical system. As first mentioned in Update #141, Eniko developed the ABC and MML code library that we are using in SotA’s music system. Enjoy!

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Vertas

The settlement of Vertas is new, much like the elves who live within. Unlike many of their number, the elves of Vertas seek to come to terms both with humans and their own past. Avatars that visit Vertas will find that the elves have much in common with them, and seek to learn as much from outlanders as they can. In return, perhaps they can help the Avatar’s own progress along the Path of Truth…

Esteben “Steve” Zaldivar shared these work-in-progress images from the new scene:

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Etceter

The port of Etceter is one of the few places where men and satyrs meet without violence. The satyrs run a booming trade in helping pilgrims travel to the fabled city of Xenos, where all dreams are fulfilled and all lusts are sated. Can the Avatar travelling the Path of Truth uncover the Artifice barely hidden?

Andy Cortez provided these sneak peek, work-in-progress, images of the new Etceter scene:

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The Fortress at Hilt in Nightshade Pass – Part 3

[Continuation of A Dev+ Forum Post by Scottie Jones]

Woot!!! I think I’m within 24 hours of being essentially done with the Hilt Fortress exterior area! After I’ve made my final pass decorating specific scenes, I’ll be passing this map on to others for adding resource nodes, creature spawners, and other such encounter areas… One of the special scenes I made is a small encampment of weary travelers who fear approaching any closer to the base of the ancient fortress because of the presence of a cave troll that waylays any who dare to cross the bridge near the lowest waterfall. Their horses were dangerously spooked, so they have camped higher up along the eastern pass to consider the possibility of fording some shallow area they hope to find in the misty lake below. Certainly nothing could go wrong with that plan! Just beyond their tent and wagons, through the dark forest, is an overgrown trail leading high into the mountains toward the treacherous volcano of Hilt itself.

You might notice that some of the things I added just today are a variety of mist and cloud effects tailored for this particular area to help give the impression of distance. In addition to that, the mountain mists add to the somewhat spooky effect this area is meant to have on those passing through it at night. Even during the day, however you can get an impression of how this helps the overall “feel” of the place. These next two images show the view from below, at the base of the fortress, looking up at the distant keep’s main tower. The first is the view at dusk, and the second is some while later after the sun has set, to give you a comparison of the cloudy mist’s effect in the dramatically different lighting of those two times of day.

And lastly, in honor of approaching Halloween, I wanted to include an image of the somewhat creepy entrance courtyard of the main fortress itself, lit dimly by the haunting light of the magical, floating crystal shards. I just love the shattered moon as it floats past the dark silhouette of the great tower. You can also see the nearly 25 meter tall waterfall tumbling down from the distant mountains veiled in night’s mist, sending the river on its way down the cascading terraces toward the lake below…

Hope you’ve enjoyed the work so far! Perhaps one more posting of some exterior shots later next week after I wrap this up and begin the interior of this forbidding place…

Take care!

Scottie ^_^

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The Gallery of the Wonderful Horrors

Even though the Grand Opening Tour for the Gallery of Wonderful Horrors was this past Tuesday, this is such an amazing place that we wanted to include a shoutout for it. If you missed the grand tour, then we highly recommend you check out Eriador’s creations before it is wiped with Release 23 on October 29th. More details are provided in Eriador’s original forum post. Here are some screen shots from Eriador’s website:

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Think Small!

Community member Myrcello recently posted on the forums suggesting that we needed to start thinking small. Specifically, we needed to consider tiny versions of the large decorations available in the Add-On Store. We had also just released the Ornate Skull Candle, which fits on most any shelf or mantle, and was surprised by how fast it was selling.

These two events convinced us that we do, indeed, need to start thinking small, so we did! We took several of our popular (large) decorations and shrunk them down to “tabletop” size, including the Tabletop Grim Reaper Statue, Tabletop Stone Dragon Statue, Tabletop Skeleton 6-Pack, Tabletop Oracle Statue Head, and the Tabletop Chess Set, available now in the Add-On Store!

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Spooky Bundles

In celebration of that spooky time of year, we created the following Spooky Bundles, saving you up to 25% off the individually priced items!

2015 Spooky Wearable Bundle

We just added the Grim Reaper Mask to the Add-On Store, and also included it as part of the Spooky Wearable Bundle. This bundle contains: Grim Reaper Mask, Jack-o-Lantern Mask, Jack-o-Lantern Glowing Mask, Witch Hat, Zombie Mask, Zombie One-Eyed Mask, Headless Mask, and the Plague Doctor Mask.

2015 Spooky Decoration Bundle

The Spooky Decoration Bundle has a total of 35 items, including: Ornate Skull Candle, Tabletop Grim Reaper Statue, Skeleton 6-Pack, Tabletop Skeleton 6-Pack, Spider Still 3-Pack, Spider Aggressive 3-Pack, Spider Attack 3-Pack, Spider Web 6-Pack, and the Jack-o-Lantern 6-Pack.

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Things are Heating Up!

When we introduced Ye Olde Hot Tub in April 2014 it rapidly became one of our fastest selling items in the Add-On Store! It is a rather rustic appearing hot tub, and our backers have been requesting some upscale hot tubs ever since. Well, the wait is over because Bob Cooksey has crafted these beautiful hot tubs, the Ornate Tile Hot Tub and Ornate Wooden Hot Tub, both available now in the Add-On Store:

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The Blocks are Back

We received some strong community feedback on the forums when we made the Craftable Lute, Piano, and Building Blocks available in the Add-On store, regarding the impact such items could have on the player economy for in-game crafters. Here is what Starr Long had to say in that forum thread:

We have considered all the feedback and we have been convinced that having identical items that are craftable and for sale could have an adverse effect to the player economy. So we are immediately removing these items from the store.

We quickly replaced the lute and piano version in the Add-On Store to differentiate them from the craftable versions, and this week added the new Dark Rough Stone Building Blocks that are a variation on the rough stone building blocks that can be crafted in-game:

The Dark Rough Stone Building Blocks 110-Pack includes:

• 10 ea: 1Wx1Hx1L Cube
• 15 ea: 1Wx1Hx2L Rectangle
• 20 ea: 1Wx2Hx2L Square
• 10 ea: 1Wx4Hx1L Rectangle
• 10 ea: 1Wx4Hx2L Rectangle
• 10 ea: 1Wx4Hx4L Square
• 2 ea: 1Wx6Hx6L Arch
• 15 ea: 2Wx2Hx2L Cube
• 10 ea: 2Wx4Hx2L Rectangle
• 5 ea: 2Wx4Hx4L Square
• 3 ea: 4Wx4Hx4L Cube

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17 Day Countdown for Fall Reward & Sale Expirations

As we approach the last quarter of 2015, and major milestones such as Alpha and Beta are looming ever closer on the horizon, we are announcing the Fall Reward Expiration Event that occurs at Midnight CST, November 2, 2015. This event includes the following reward expirations:

• Future Episodes 2,3,4 & 5 of Shroud of the Avatar
• Additional Character Slots 2 & 3
• Waterfront Homes & Lots (including Cabana, German Cabana, Lighthouse, Houseboat, Galleon, Castle, and Castle with Keeps)

In addition to the pledge reward expirations, the sale will end on November 2nd for the following Add-On Store items and they will revert to their regular prices (as displayed in the item description): Battle Banner, Tower Village Home, Tower Town Home, Druid Town Home, Airship City Home, Row Lot Property Deeds, Village Lot Property Deed (SOLD OUT), Town Lot Property Deeds, and City Lot Property Deeds

[More Fall Reward Expiration details…]

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Get Your 15% Black Friday Bonus Now!

Last year we extended our Black Friday Promotion to give you 8 weeks to take advantage of our Black Friday 15% Bonus, and we’re doing it again this year! This is especially helpful for backers that intend to pledge or upgrade prior to the Fall Reward & Sale Expiration Event ! Here are the details:

For all new purchases (including pledges, pledge upgrades, add-on items, player owned towns, player owned town upgrades, stretch goal items, and Make a Difference items) between 12:00 am CST October 2, 2015 and 12:00 am CST December 1, 2015, 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 CST 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 stretch goal 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.

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In-game Weekend Community Events

Our amazing community has another great lineup of in-game events planned for this weekend. Special thanks to community member SpookyJenny (aka Jenny Phoenixfyre in-game) for her help in compiling the latest schedule of player events from the Avatar’s Circle Community Events calendar and the Events of the Avatars community calendar:

Recurring Events

• RPOTA Monthly $150 Writing Contest – October is Horror, Mystery & Thriller Month
  • Here ye! Here ye! Biographers, Historians, Diplomats, Journalists, Story Writers, Quest Designers and Videographers! RPOTA is in dire need of your amazing talents! Role-Players of the Avatar is hosting a monthly contest to award those most famous with their quill or camera! (details)
• R22 Deco Contest – Halloween!
  • Who can create the spookiest Halloween scene in their home, basement or yard? Get your entry in by October 21st! (details)
• Bilbo Baggins Decoration Contest
  • Community member Myrcello is offering $50 Store Credit to the player that comes closest to recreating the interior of Bilbo Baggins house (details)
• Musician’s Contest
  • Community member Violation is sponsoring a Musician’s Contest. Chance to win a Lute! (details)
• Where in the World is Weinie?
  • Community member Weins201 (forum name) is wandering around and taking pictures of 50 different places, and is offering a $25 Store Credit (plus other gifts) to the player who can identify the most places (deadline for entries is the launch of R23; details)
• The R22 Unreliable Travel Guide
  • The Unreliable Travel Guide, created at the SotA Writing Round Table, is not an event, but a collection of hilarious short stories published by two drunken layabouts who have nothing better to do than try to derive a dishonest income from newly arrived avatars. (details)
• Avatars Radio (Daily Programming)
  • Welcome New Britannians to Avatars Radio – Radio of the Avatars. Rocking your socks off from the town of Radio City with the Terrestrial and New Britannian bards together under one roof through the power of the Moon Towers.  Check out their daily program of amazing DJs:  http://avatarsradio.info/schedule.php
• NBNN Lunch with Lazarus (Weekdays, 12pm CST)
  • Join Lazarus every weekday for the daily goings on in SOTA. Calendar updates, relevant issues happening in the days news, chat about upcoming events and general information. Feel free to call in or join us in team speak and tell us WHAT YOU THINK. http://www.twitch.tv/nbnnnews
• Daily War Time PVP Event (Daily, 8pm CST – 9pm CST)
  • Invitation to all guilds, PK hunters, PVP’rs or players interested in PVP training to come to Chaos Crossroads (Located at the crossroads outside of Kingsport on the road to Owl’s Head). PVP Event rules: None! Use whatever spells you want, kill in mobs or solo, group with new allies and defend your territory, lure newbies into the town and wack them! (details)
• Daily Breakfast Club – 12am CST (London UK); 6am CST (Central US); 3pm CST (Sydney Australia)
  • Breakfast Clubs offer a time when people from around different time zones can gather. (Wody’s Pub, Paxlair)
• “The Tavern Respite” RP Event (Mondays, 8pm CST)
  • The tavern door opens before you, and the scent of pipe and stew waft outwards with a wall of warmth from the hearth. Join in with the patrons of the Bear Tavern as they share tales of their adventures amid endless mugs of ale, legs of mutton, and merriment unbounded (The Bear Tavern in PaxLair; /zone Elgarion De’Khali; details)!
• Challenge Dungeon Run (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 7pm CST)
  • This is a self-host event, meet at the Braemar Cemetery and organize into groups to take on the infamous Chillblain’s Compendium of Pain & Suffering!
• PaxLair Working Hours – Host Sean Silverfoot (Tuesdays, 2pm)
  • PaxLair town and community “working hours” are for anyone interested in PaxLair. We will be in New Britannia doing things as a town when many people can work together. Sean Silverfoot hosts this working period. / zone Sean Silverfoot
• Novian Academy – New Citizen Help Hours (Tuesdays, 6pm CST)
  • /zone Kazyn Phoenixfyre of Novian Academy in Soltown as they provide guidance to those new to the world of New Britannia.
• Phoenix Republic Open Mic Night (Wednesdays, 7pm CST)
  • Join the Phoenix Republic as we explore a weekly series of shared creativity, stories, songs and music. We will have entertainment and dining, dancing and socializing with our friends. Those who wish to share in their creativity can take to the stage and show off their newest creative endeavor!
• Happy Hour Wednesdays (Wednesdays, 8pm CST)
  • Otherwise known as “Spend Stryker’s Gold” – Stryker will open a bar tab at one of the local Novia taverns for an hour or so for drinks, stories, news, critique of the arts, dancing, and otherwise unplanned mayhem. Zone /Stryker Sparhawk or watch this thread for locations each week!
• Storytime with royalsexy (Thursdays, 7am CST)
  • Join royalsexy in Radio City for stories and chats. /zone royalsexy or hike aaaaalll the way to Storytime Tavern in Radio City to join. Also live on Avatars Radio http://avatarsradio.info
• Gladiator Wars (Thursdays, 7pm CST)
  • A call to all fighters PVE and PVP! Would you like to participate in the “Gladiator Wars” PvP Tournaments? Registration starts at 6pm CST. (Finchfield; /zone Pestilence; details)
• Phoenix Republic PVE Nights (Thursdays & Fridays, 7pm CST)
  • Join the Phoenix Republic as we send our weekly foray into the control points, dungeons and other of the most dangerous locales. Each week we will depart to a different PVE locale to help train our combatants. Contact Kazyn Phoenixfyre or Malakas for more info!
• Novian Academy – Role Play Courses (Fridays, 4pm CST)
  • Luka Melehan is hosting RP classes and practice sessions. (/zone Luka Melehan)
• Shardfall Madness (Fridays, 6pm CST)
  • A PvP event. Contact Wind Silvermoon for details.
• Vengeance Madness (Fridays, 7pm CST)
  • This is an Open PvP event where everyone fights it out in a royal rumble to see who the ultimate death dealer is! (City of Vengeance; /zone Bambino LudoVate)
• Astronomy Event (Fridays, 8pm CST)
  • Interested in New Britannia Astronomy? Just enjoy gazing at the stars? Join us every week as we explore the night sky above New Britannia. (Player Town of Caer Dracwych; details)

Saturday, October 17

• 9:00am CST PaxLair Working Hours
  • PaxLair town and community “working hours” are for anyone interested in PaxLair. (/zone Winfield)
• 11:00am CST Church of the Dark Star – Saturday Service
  • Join Lady Amber Raine, High Priestess of the Church of the Dark Star along with Kazyn Phoenixfyre of the Church of the Sun, as they bring another thought provoking service. (PaxLair; details)
• 12:00pm CST New Britannia Theatre Troupe Presents “Banish the Darkness”
  • The New Britannia Theatre Troupe is proud to present the next segment of the on going saga written by Gabriel Nightshadow – Banish the Darkness! With the use of the Aether Vibration Amplifier and Avatars Radio – This will be a listening party.  Join us in Wizards Rest for a few mugs of mead and great company as we gather round to listen to and meet and greet these fantastic voice actors. (Player owned town of Wizards Rest, near Owl’s Head; details)
• 7:00pm CST Port Phoenix Social Nights
  • Come out and join the Republic in one of many potential events (chosen new each week). Each week we get together for everything from fishing, to music, to gustball, to PVE duneoneering and adventuring. (Contact Kazyn Phoenixfyre for more details!)
• 8:00pm CST Vengeance 1v1 Tournament
  • The longest running Player vs Player tournament in Shroud of the Avatar. (City of Vengeance)

Sunday, October 18

• 6:30am CST Explore Novia with royalsexy (Dancing Rock, Owl’s Head Entrance, /zone royalsexy)
• 8:30am CST PaxLair Meeting
  • Come see what PaxLair is up to in Novia and other town areas! Many people also attend from towns and guilds for a bit of a weekly wrap-up and what’s happening. Good discussions! (PaxLair, /zone Winfield)
• 11:00am CST Phoenix Republic Weekly Teamspeak Meeting
  • A Gathering of members of the Phoenix Republic to cover important topic areas of the month. It is here that the republic shall discuss new event types, ideas on new laws and other concerns effecting the Phoenix Republic. (Republic Town Hall, Port Phoenix, teamspeak at ts3.portphoenix.com)
• 1:00pm CST Serenite Shopping Extravaganza
  • Shopping Extravaganza at the Serenite Selfridge Mall. Crafters will be available for special orders.
• 3:00pm CST Gustball
  • Two teams are pitted against each other in a sporting event not dissimilar from soccer, football, and basketball. The object of the game is to Gust a Gustball around the field and into your opponent’s goal (/zone Bambino Ludovate, details)
• 5:00pm CST BMC Grid Iron Feast and Registration
  • Register to compete in the BMC Gridiron and mingle with other participants and spectators before the big fight! (Blackrock Point on Novia near Etceter Crag Mines, details)
• 5:30pm CST BMC Gladiator’s Grid-Iron
  • The BMC is proud to present the nastiest, the foulest, the most feared arena in all of New Britannia! The Grid-Iron is equipped with a pit-style arena, locker rooms, a VIP round-table, betting & vendor booths, and all the blood-sport you can handle. (Blackrock Point on Novia near Etceter Crag Mines, details)
• 7:00pm CST PaxLair Meeting
  • Come see what PaxLair is up to in Novia and other town areas! Many people also attend from towns and guilds for a bit of a weekly wrap-up and what’s happening. Good discussions!  (PaxLair, /zone Winfield)
• 8:00pm CST Fishing with Winfield
  • Come sit with Winfield on a log or rock to hear some fish tales or tell your own. Chat about anything from the moons to the earth worms. Spend a relaxing day in nature near a stream or lake — bring insect repellent or a sword.  (some fishing spot or pond, /zone Winfield; details)

Be sure and check out the Release 22 Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events that may not be included here.

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Halloween Celebration and Costume Contest!

[From a Release 22 Events Forum Post by Grave GodsHammer]

…to celebrate the Halloween season, Dragon’s Fall will be hosting a Post Release 22 & Halloween Celebration in the “Fallen Companions Memorial” city lot within the player owned town of Dragon’s Fall. There will be a spooky cemetery and basement haunted house to tour, a DJ playing live in-game Halloween music near a fantastic ghastly dancefloor, lots of creepy crawly food and drinks, zombie dancing and…

The Shroud of the Avatar, community wide Halloween Costume Contest!!! The winner of the Halloween costume contest will win an Autism Awareness Puzzle Prize package, so please join us;

Friday October 23rd at 10:00 PM- 12:00 AM NBT [CST].

A Halloween costume contest BEFORE we have the release 23 costumes? *GasP* That’s right, get creative and have fun with this awesome event and player gathering!

Party and contest rules: Costume judging will be administered by Dragon’s Fall own, Lieutenant Governor Sawtooth Prime. We have an amazing party location setup with themed lighting, so please avoid wearing any pledge rewards (of Light) items and casting any spells which produce light.

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Upcoming Events

2015.10.29 – Release 23
2015.11.19 – Release 24
2015.12.17 – Release 25
2016.01.28 – Release 26
2016.02.25 – Release 27
2016.03.17 – SXSW Gaming

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Recommended Games to Back

Descent: Underground

Eric “Wingman” Peterson and team are bringing back six-degrees-of-freedom combat by blasting 90’s action game favorite, Descent, into the 21st Century with current-generation gaming technology. Descent: Underground is more than a graphics upgrade. Get ready for multiple types of customizable ships! Prepare for upgradable weapons and sensors with richly-detailed tech trees. Brace yourself for destructible voxel maps with new power-ups and mod tools to make your own maps and more!