Update of the Avatar #156 – 2015.12.18: Happy Holidays!, Play Release 25 Now, 10% Holiday Bonus, Q1-2016 Schedule, Backers Deco Portalarium, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• Happy Holidays!
• Announcing the 10% Holiday Bonus!
• Play Release 25 Now!
• The FireLotus Release 25 Party – Christmas Edition!
• R25 Patch Notes
• Q1-2016 Schedule Update
• SotA’s Dye System
• SotA Backers Decorate Portalarium for the Holidays!
• Wake Up New Britannia!!! – 12 Days of SotA
• MMORPG.com Players’ Choice 2015 – Most Anticipated
• 2015 Winter Holiday Bundles
• 17 Day Countdown for Winter Reward & Price Expirations
• In-game Community Events
• This Week In the News
• Upcoming Events
• Recommended Projects to Back

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Happy Holidays!

The entire Shroud of the Avatar Development team wish you the Happiest of Holidays!

We were especially diligent to make sure Release 25 launched successfully in time for all of you to enjoy it during your holidays. Fireworks were activated in this Release, and we have to admit, they were more fun than we expected. Darkstarr and Chaox were providing the fireworks show during the Traditional FireLotus Release Party, as shown in the image above!

We are honored to have such an amazing community of backers, and will never be able to thank you enough for all you do! For your enjoyment this holiday season, we are gifting all our current backers, plus any new backers between now and January 11, 2016 (see below for the significance of this date), with the 45-piece Rocket Fireworks Assortment. You will find it in your inventory when next you log into the game. We hope you have as much fun with them as we did today!

[NOTE: Portalarium offices are closed from December 21 thru December 25 so there will be no Update of the Avatar next week. We will return the following week.]

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Announcing the 10% Holiday Bonus!

Just in time for the holidays, we are announcing our 10% Holiday Bonus! 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 December 18, 2015 and Midnight CST January 11, 2015, we will add an additional 10% 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 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 bonus; Store Credit cannot be applied toward the purchase of stretch goal or make a difference items]

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Play Release 25 Now!

Release 25 successfully launched yesterday, December 17, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, logging in, and checking out the new changes! Lots of new content to explore, including:

• New Agriculture System
• Craftable Dyes
• New scenes including Hilt Fortress, South Varisalla Foothills, North Naryad Pinelands, etc.
• Lots of Winter Holiday content, including fireworks
• More combat and skills balancing
• Guild Warfare
• New Player Owned Towns
• …and more!

Check out the Release 25 Instructions update for detailed information about all the newcontent.

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The Grand Tour Quest

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

If you need help with the R25 Quest, community member E N V Y has provided this helpful video walk-thru (NOTE: There was a bug in the first build when E N V Y recorded this video where the Nomad Hat was referred to as the Fur Hat. The latest build refers to it as the Nomad Hat):

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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 25!

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 25 Player Instructions

Release 25 Known Issues

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Avatars Radio Presents: The FireLotus Release 25 Party – Christmas Edition!

This month’s traditional FireLotus Release Party was held in Silverhold, a beautiful snowy mountain town! This month’s party was especially colorful thanks to the fireworks displays! Here are a few screenshots:

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R25 Patch Notes

Thanks to all our community members that jumped right into this Release 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.

December 18, 2015  

Build Number 363, 4:45 PM

Fixes:

• Hoe that comes with immortality fruit seed now gets full durability on delivery
• Fixed walls with no colliders in Nighshade Pass
• Filled in a rubble hole in Hilt Fortress to prevent getting stuck
• Verdantis Shardfall: Removed boat teleporter to Port Mirren.
• Fixed water not showing until you move camera issue
• Fixed Clockwork Raven reward to correct clockwork raven (silver)
• Minor typo fix – Braemar/Jarred
• 2015 Holiday Gift: Fireworks
• Fixed wolf attack that were double spamming attacks occasionally
• Hilt Fortress lava pools now cause damage
• North Naryad Pinelands: Moved a harvestable pine tree that was in a house to the ground.
• Troll Attack fixes: set attacks so they will not be interrupted and fixed timing on rock throw
• Added messaging for players when their guild enters a guild war

Known Issues:

• There are two versions of Etceter in the game. If you claim property there you will have to zone to your home to get to the proper version.
• We do not yet officially support Windows 10. If you have upgraded to Windows 10 you may experience instability
• Lighting and fog levels are still being tuned to work with the new weather system, expect anomalies
• Weather has not been propagated to all scenes yet so there may be mismatches
• Some skills have not been fully adjusted to work properly with the new use based system
• Sound effects are not always playing properly
• Death and Resurrection do not work properly in the team arena
• Water lots in Dynamic Player Owned Towns can currently only be placed along shorelines, not on docks
• If you upgrade from a property owning pledge between data wipes you will receive extra lot deeds.
• Time is not in synchronized between scenes that have the new sky vs. the old sky
• If your video drivers are out of date characters will appear as if they are covered in triangles.
• Some cities are experiencing performance spikes
• Many pledge, add on, and stretch goal items have not yet been built and/or do not yet have tech support.
• 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.
• Skin tone will sometimes not match properly on different parts of the body
• ALT key can no longer be bound. This was necessary to re-enable quick self cast with ALT
• Unity 5 Engine Bug: Objects in the foreground sort incorrectly against objects in the distance like trees and the horizon

[Complete Patch Notes…]

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Q1-2016 Schedule Update

[A forum post by Starr Long]

Greetings Avatars,

As we have stated previously, our goal is to once-per-quarter post an updated schedule for our monthly releases. Even though these goals will likely change somewhat as we react to feedback, we feel it is important to provide you an updated roadmap periodically.

Our goal continues to be to deliver our backers content each and every month so that we can get feedback and use it to iterate improvements. This continues to benefit the game, with sweeping changes like the change over to use-based advancement. Meeting that monthly goal is our highest priority, but we require flexibility in our deliverables in order to meet that goal. As you have seen in previous releases, sometimes we push things out, but we also often pull new things in.

The focus of the first quarter of 2016 is to get us as close to Alpha/Feature complete as possible as soon as we can. However we are balancing that Alpha goal with polish, performance, and service hardening to prepare for our final wipe as soon as mid-summer. If we have to make a choice at any point we will favor getting to final wipe over hitting Feature complete. That is why you will not see quite as much content listed as last quarter, despite our increased staff. We feel that it is better to get the game into a more polished, playable, and secure state sooner than it is to check off every single feature.

As always, all dates, durations, and deliverables are subject to change as we adjust our designs based on direct feedback from you, our backers.

RELEASE 26, January 28, 2016

• Full Wipe: Once again we are going to make some fundamental changes to item and quest architecture that require us to do a full wipe for Release 26. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please note that if you have been waiting to melt down add-ons, this is your chance to do so as long as you do NOT log into the game once R26 goes live (which automatically claims the items and prevents melt down).
• Spells & Skills: We will continue to make a pass through the skill trees and add new skills, balance existing skills, and replace less useful skills.
• Story: More polish passes will be made on existing maps for balance and story support. We will also continue to expand the story with new scenes, including the towns of Resolute and Aerie.
• Player Homes and Player Owned Towns: We will add another town template along with some more tools to customize your town. We will also begin delivery of add-on store buildings.
• Crafting: Agriculture will expand to include Public Gardens and foods will now have longer term effects (as well as more recipes). We will also create more armor and weapon recipes, including more critical success effects.
• Creatures: The Chaos Daemon will lay waste to players with his Chaos Magic powers.
• Metrics and Logging: We will greatly expand the data we record to better inform optimizations, balance issues, and necessary economic tweaks.
• Performance: Major efforts will be done to optimize performance. This will include frame rate improvements, load time improvements, and memory footprint improvements.
• Sound Effects: A thorough pass will begin through the starting scenes (Isle of Storms, etc.) to increase overall quality of the environmental sounds.

RELEASE 27, February 25, 2016:

• Story: More polish passes will be made on existing maps for balance and story support. We will also continue to expand the story with new scenes, including the town of Xenos and the entrance to the dungeon of Artifice. Scenes in the Vale will start to get polish passes to bring them up to current dynamic spawning standards.
• Player Owned Towns: We will add another town template and towns will begin to receive blessings based on buildings placed and population density. Music chosen in the PoT submission form will begin to be heard.
• Roving Encounters: Roving encounters (patrolling creatures) will now appear on the overworld map and can be engaged (pulling you into a scene) or avoided if you wish to sneak past.
• Crafting: The crafting system will expand with recipes for alcohol and teleportation. Additionally certain recipes can now be taught to other players. More resources will begin appearing in the game as well.
• Job System: Public and player vendors will now take Job Orders. These jobs describe what players wish to purchase and how much they will pay for them.
• Interactive Use Logging: Players will be able to view a log that tracks which players interacted with an interactive object (doors, containers, etc.) on a player’s lot or Player Owned Town location.
• Combat: Balance passes will be made across most parts of combat including PVP.
• Performance and Polish: Major efforts will be done to optimize performance and polish gameplay. We will also increase the breadth of metrics and logging.

RELEASE 28, March 31, 2016

• Story: More polish passes will be made on existing maps for balance and story support. We will also continue to expand the story with new scenes, including the dungeon of Artifice and the Superstition Canyon control point.
• Castle Defense Scenarios: Castle scenes will appear in the game along with siege weapons to attack and defend them.
• Town Sieges: Towns will begin coming under siege from the eight Cabalists (also known as the Dark Lords). While towns are under siege players must fight, run, or sneak past the siege lines around the town.
• Creatures: At least one Cabalist will begin wreaking havoc on besieged towns. Players using Moon magic will now be able to summon Wisps to support them.
• Skills: The ability to forget a skill will now be available from trainers. Polish and balance passes will be made across all skills and spells.
• Crafting: Polish and balance passes will be made on resources, recipes, and creature loot.
• Single Player Offline: While Single Player Offline mode has been working internally since the start of the project, the work of making this available to players will begin. Additionally, features and content specific to Single Player Offline Mode will move into full production.
• Service Hardening: We will begin a series of passes through the client, authentication, and server to harden the service for security and customer service. Special attention will be paid to the Patcher.

We continue to be incredibly thankful for the support we receive from this amazing community. While the funding you provide makes all of this possible, it pales in comparison with the faith you have in us, the feedback you provide us, and the content you are making for everyone to enjoy. We are humbly grateful, and we cannot wait to see you again in New Britannia!

Before I go, I wanted to include an excerpt from my original post about our Early Release Schedule that is important to set the framework for our ongoing schedule:

NOTE: Payment plans have been extended to June 2016

Sincerely,
Starr Long
Executive Producer
Shroud of the Avatar

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SotA’s Dye System

[A Dev+ forum post by Geoff “Qball” Mellon]

Hey all,

The ideas behind being able to change the colors of some things without having to create two textures is something we started almost two years ago. When we started this originally the programmer (oneandonly) and I figured how best to set up a framework for us to build upon later. We now use some parts of this system in many places. For instance we use this system to control certain animals colors, and even use part of this for Avatar skin tones. Letting the players dye clothing is a whole different beast, and while we did original set up the structure back then we knew we’d want to come back to it.

When we recently added in several dyable capes to the game, it cause some bugs to pop up. Last release, I had the chance to dig down into the problem. The problem lead me to realize first we needed to have a more complete set of colors for the dyes. So that’s what I focused on.

Dyes use the RGB channels in all the textures. Those channels each act like an mask or stencil for anything in it. So anything in say the red channel would be replaced by whatever color we tell it to.

In the pictures below show how each channel looks and how the actual albedo texture looks.

ALBEDO

This is the whole map how it would look if you opened it….yuck. Don’t let it fool you, it’s just a map to tell the computer where to add what color….

RED CHANNEL

Anything in this channel that is white is full RED. This is the “Primary Color”.

GREEN CHANNEL

Anything in this channel that is white is full GREEN. This is the “Secondary Color”.

BLUE CHANNEL

Anything in this channel that is white is full BLUE. This is the “Tertiary Color”. This color for cloth is locked for metal and not changeable.

SPECULAR CHANNEL

There is more to the way the cloth looks than just color, we also have to define how reflective it is. To do that we use a second set of 3 channels called the “specular channels”. The specular defines how sharp/strong the highlight is and how reflective the material is. Basically, this one is frozen for cloth.

REPLACEMENT MAP

We have one final map that allows us to exclude the whole color dying system. Anything in this channel that is Black is ignored by the color changing. For cloth we use it for alternate materials we may want to keep consistent like leather straps or insignias for example.

So now that the colors are set up all I have to do is tell the game which color are Primary, Secondary and Tertiary…. and make every combo of it. In this menu….

COLOR SETUPS

Now that that is all settled we decided upon black/white and 9 base colors. Then we made lighter/darker versions of each and gave us a grand total of 32 unique colors. That would mean taking into account colors in both primary and secondary for customization, that would make 1024 possible combinations!

Here are all 32 colors put into the primary channel (white on the secondary):

Thanks again for your support, back to the demon……

Qball

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All currently available dyes are craftable in-game, with the exception of Pure White and Pure Black, which are available in the Add-On Store:

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SotA Backers Decorate Portalarium for the Holidays!

When local SotA backers learned that we don’t spend backer funds on office holiday decorations, they offered to do it for us! We were extremely moved by such generosity, and humbly accepted.

So on December 10th, backers descended on Portalarium and filled our office with holiday cheer! Thank you so much to Kacey, Winfield, Sianna Thorne, Jack Frost, Elwyn, and Rustic Dragon for donating your time and decorations! We’d also like to thank Violation, Sean Silverfoot, One Zero, Gaelis, Sindariya, and The Drachenfels Guild for the holiday contributions, decorations and goodies they provided! Here are a few pics from the holiday decorating event, provided by Rustic Dragon:

Kacey

Sianna Thorne

Jack Frost

Rustic Dragon

Elwyn and Sianna Thorne

Winfield and team member Scottie Jones

These are a couple of the items sent from Germany by the Drachenfels Guild

Winfield setting up a fish tank in the Portalarium office, which brings a whole new meaning to “Fishing with Winfield”

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Wake Up New Britannia!!! – 12 Days of SotA

[From a Release 25 Events Forum Post by Wake Up New Britannia]

Don’t forget to be listening to Avatars Radio this week for replays of the 12 Days of SotA! Write down your list of which DJs are singing which days, and Saturday Morning during Wake Up New Britannia, you could win a Town Lot Deed and Lord Home (Courtesy of Memento Mori) a combined value of OVER 400K in-game gold, if you are the FIRST to correctly identify all 12 Days!!! Above, you can see which DJs have already been revealed by @Athanil last week!

Good luck!!! And we hope to see you Saturday!!!

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MMORPG.com Players’ Choice 2015 – Most Anticipated

Shroud of the Avatar has been included in MMORPG.com Players’ Choice for The Most Anticipated MMO of 2016. Check out the article here and place your vote!

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MMORPG.com Column: Release 25 – Future Farmers of New Britannia

If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, Red Thomas posted his latest article to MMORPG.com. Here’s an excerpt:

Of all the studios I’ve visited, Portalarium is the coolest. There are others that are up there, and a couple of them are also in Austin. Portalarium is special, though. It’s not uncommon for Garriott, Long, or Spears to throw out concepts they’ve been working on for the game, so I take a great deal of personal pride in that professionals of that caliber would care in the least for my opinion. I’m not too shy to offer it more that I probably should, but it’s also a testament to their professionalism that they take all feedback seriously. The folks at Port aren’t just okay with dissenting opinions when they discuss ideas for Shroud of the Avatar, they’re genuinely appreciative to receive them.

That shows a level of professionalism far superior to a lot of other developers I’ve met over the years, an yet it’s nothing when you think about a couple of other facts. They’ve been going for just over two years, releasing major updates every single month without missing a beat. And no, Starr… Being less than a minute late with a single build for one of the less common operating systems does not constitute a break in that record in my book.

Despite that absolutely amazing feat, they’ve done all this without once taking the servers down for an unplanned outage. When is the last time you played an MMO of any complexity without having an outage at least once in a two-year period? Not one that I’ve ever heard of, but that’s not even the reason I like this studio as much as I do.
Today, we’re going to take a quick look at some of the new content you’ll find in December’s release for Shroud of the Avatar. This release includes the typical new scenes, but also introduces the first pass at the agriculture system. Then, I’ll tell you why I think so highly of Portalarium as a development studio, and wrap things up with how that relates to some major news about the game…

[Check out the rest of Red’s article here]

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2015 Winter Holiday Bundles

Save on these discounted bundles of Holiday items, available now in the Add-On Store!

2015 Winter Holiday Decoration Bundle

Dress up your home and yard with this value pack of Winter Holiday Decorations. Contains 10 items, including:

• 2015 Ornate Snow Family (Snowman, Snowwoman, Snowgirl, Snowboy)
• 2015 Tabletop Yule Tree
• 2015 Yule Tree
• 2015 Holiday Wreath
• 2015 Menorah
• 2015 Cornucopia
• 2015 Replenishing Snowball Box

 

2015 Winter Holiday Bundle

Save on this value pack of 2015 Winter Holiday cloths, hats, and pets! Contains 8 items, including:

• 2015 Holly Wreath with Candles Hat
• Yule Velvet Bodice Ensemble (short skirted bodice, gloves, and boots)
• 2015 Yule Hat
• Brown Pilgrim Bonnet
• White Reindeer
• White Turkey

 

2015 Winter Holiday Fireworks Bundle

Celebrate the New Year with a bang with this 3-pack of one red, one yellow, and one blue replenishing rocket fireworks boxes. Each box contains 50 rocket fireworks that regenerates periodically.

 

Rocket Fireworks 45-Piece Assortment

Host a spectacular fireworks show with this 45-piece Rocket fireworks assortment, including 15 Red Rockets, 15 Blue Rockets, and 15 Yellow Rockets!

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17 Day Countdown for Winter Reward & Price Expirations

As major milestones such as Alpha and Beta loom ever closer on the horizon, we are announcing the Winter Reward Expiration Event that occurs at 10:30 am CST, January 4, 2016. This event includes the following reward expirations:

• General Rewards (Custom Crest, Name on Tombstone, Custom Avatar)
• All Physical Rewards
• All In-Person Rewards
• Player Owned Town Add-On Store Houses

Additionally, the price will increase for several Add-On Store items.

[More Winter Reward Expiration details…]

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In-game 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 schedule of player events from the Avatar’s Circle Community Events calendar and the Events of the Avatars community calendar:

Recurring Events

• Release 24-25 Christmas Decoration Contest!
  • ‘Tis the season for those of us in the snowy North as well as those in the sunny South to once again gather together to eat, drink and be merry!’ And to add to the chaotic merriment, we are announcing that the contest theme will be……….Holiday Fun! Deadline for entry is December 17th. 1st Place wins $20 Store Credit! (details)
• Vanguard Decoration Contest – R24 / R25
  • Vanguard is hosting a decoration contest. To enter you must place a lot in Vanguard and decorate it as best as you can. If you don’t have a lot / house then you can borrow one for the duration of the contest. If you already have a lot / house then feel free to drop by and take an empty lot. This contest lasts for the whole duration of R24 and R25. 1st Place wins $30 Store Credit! (details)
• RPOTA Monthly $160 Writing Contest – December contest involves Good Will or Winter Themes!
  • 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)
• The 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 Laz & Jack (Weekdays, 12pm CST)
  • Join NBNN every weekday for Lunch With Laz & Jack. They will be covering the daily goings on in SOTA. Calendar updates, Relevant issues happening in the days news. Come chat with us about upcoming events and general information. http://nbnn.info
• 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)
• “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; /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.
• Wednesday Knights (Wednesdays, 5pm CST)
  • This will be mainly an impromptu event but on occasion I may plan on doing something ‘knightly’. All will be welcome. Some possibilities include RP, boss hunts, gathering materials & crafting, hat quests, hanging out or whatever people feel up for. (Caer Dracwych; /zone Bowen Bloodgood; details)
• 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!
• 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, 7:30pm 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, /zone Bowen Bloodgood; details)

Saturday, December 19

• 6:00am CST Wake Up New, Britannia!!! With Woftam and Selene
  • Woftam and Selene Noctua broadcast on AvatarsRadio from the Wake Up New Britannia Studio in Owlshead (right behind the crafting pavillion). Includes Interviews with the Community, Contests for in-game Gold, What’s new for the week in New Britannia, and your Best Bets for SotA weekend events! (details)
• 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
  • High Priestess of Chaos, Amber Raine, and the Dean of the Novian Academy, Kazyn Phoenixfyre, welcome you to the Church of the Dark Star. A shared project, built upon equality, where all are welcome. Services range from what is Chaos and Order to how they affect different aspects of our life. The path you choose is yours. (Alternate weekends at PaxLair and Port Phoenix; details)
• 12:00pm CST Welcome Quest R25
  • Welcome Quest showcases many of the Player-owned and Player-ran towns in New Britannia. Come for unique events in each town. We rotate towns between each Welcome Quest. /zone Dara Brae to join. (details)
• 12:00pm CST Beran League Construction – Harvest & Craft
  • A weekly craft & harvest event for the purpose of supporting all towns, guilds and player run establishments within the Beran League! All harvested materials, crafted items and decorative items purchased will be collected and sorted in a specially designated warehouse. Town owners, guild leaders and proprietors of the Beran League (and those designated by them) will have access. (Meet at the Bear Tavern in High Rock or /zone Bowen Bloodgood; details)
• 2:00pm CST Christmas Party in Lockbrier (PaxLair)
  • Everyone is invited to a grand Christmas Party in the PaxLair borough of Lockbrier! Avatars Radio’s DJ Selene Noctua will be playing great music and broadcasting from the party. Gaelis Trajan decorated a wonderful open air party area with a Santa’s Workshop basement. (Lockbrier, downtown, just behind the white Mage Tower; /zone Gaelis Trajan; details).
• 6:00pm CST Elysium Social Nights
  • Each Saturday we meet together in Elysium and have a whole series of activities with our friends inside and outside of the island and the republic. Join us each month in a different spot within Elysium for a monthly block party celebrating all of the people and places that make Elysium great! This event was originally started by the Phoenix Republic in order to promote the foundation of Port PHoenix at the founders ball and has since evolved into a celebration of music, dancing, story telling, crafting and even occasional PVP! (details)

Sunday, December 20

• 5:30am CST Explore Novia! with royalsexy
  • Starting at the entrance to Owl’s Head, come explore the wide world of Novia – for people on our side of the calendar! (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; teamSpeak: 43.245.163.15:10099)
• 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)
• 12:00pm CST Violent Underground – Team Tourney!
  • Join War Sage in Hometown in group combat! This 4v4 (and more) Team tournament creates a wargame where only the best team wins! Come on out and grab a drink, cheer on your team, and BATTLE! This tournament takes place every other week and tests only the best of the teams in SotA! (Hometown)
• 1:00pm CST Serenite Shopping Extravaganza
  • Shopping Extravaganza at the Serenite Selfridge Mall. Crafters will be available for special orders.
• 3:00pm CST The Bear Tavern Christmas Party
  • Come one, come all! The Bear Tavern will be playing host to its annual Christmas Party. We’re throwing the doors open to the entire SOTA to come celebrate with us! Plenty of drinks, food and good times for everyone. Feel free to join us at High Rock, or, /zone Vallas Tellen (details)
• 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)
• 4:00pm CST Beran League Coastal Cities Tour
  • This tour event starts in Soltown and will focus on cities along coastal locations, including: High Rock (snow biome), Serenite (desert biome), Neath (underground biome), Radio City (PaxLair template), etc. Each stop will include a 15 minute layover, so feel free to wander. Each host location will have an active event of their own, so be sure to discover all they have to offer.
• 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 Cove 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 Cove 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 25 Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events that may not be included here.

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This Week In the News

December 16 – MMORPG: Column: Release 25: Future Farmers of New Britannia

 

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Upcoming Events

2016.01.28 – Release 26
2016.02.25 – Release 27
2016.03.16 – GDC 2016
2016.03.17 – SXSW Gaming
2016.03.31 – Release 28
2016.04.22 – PAX East
2016.04.29 – Release 29
2016.05.27 – Release 30

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Recommended Projects to Back

The Bard’s Tale IV

From the creators of Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera comes The Bard’s Tale IV. Thirty years ago, The Bard’s Tale put Brian Fargo and Interplay on the map and launched a storied career crafting some of the most beloved cRPGs in gaming history.

Today, we return to Skara Brae for the long-awaited dungeon-crawling sequel to the Bard’s Tale trilogy — the games that helped define the genre. The Bards Talke IV it is a single-player, party-based cRPG with dynamic phase-based combat, challenging puzzles and riddles, and a game set to beautiful Gaelic music, where the Bard’s songs and melodies affect gameplay.