Update of the Avatar #169 – 2016.03.25: Making of Valhold, Mountain Player Owned Town Template, Recap Band Cross Promotion

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

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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:

Overgrown Village:

City Street:

“Yellow Will Protect You!”:

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Artifice (A Work in Progress)

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Scott “Scottie” Jones]

Finally you’ve pulled yourself away from the pleasures of youthful vigor, and returned to the Entry Hall to explore more of this enchanting place… Upon approach to the next vestibule, you are greeted with enticing aromas and plates of various delicacies. Casks of ale and wine are piled here, with goblets and steins waiting to be filled. The glowing doorway to the next Hall of Artifice beckons.

Beyond the golden portal you are transported to the Hall of the Feast of Plenty! On either side, tall columns of rough-hewn marble support the vaulted ceiling in this marvelous great-hall that even Dionysus would envy. In the chamber’s center an elaborate table stretches nearly the length of the room, piled high with masterfully prepared viands of every kind, each one more delicious-looking than the next. In the swirling steam rising from platters of tender roasted meats, lanterns gently sway, bathing the heaping delicacies in warm, welcoming light.

The incredible bounty of food at its center seems overwhelming! Even the edges of the great hall are lined with tables heaping with food, each set of offerings showcased in the rays of mote-specked light that filter in from stained glass windows on all sides. So much exquisite fare,…but worry not! This food will never go to waste, since you won’t be the only one enjoying this amazing repast. Elegant guests wander and sit throughout the hall, enjoying delicacies of their own,…encouraging you to do the same. A fire crackles merrily in the great-hearth toward the back of the room, before which sits a single round table. And upon it, apparently, is the same mysterious box seen in the chamber before.

As you turn back to the entrance, the glow of the golden door reminds you that there is at least one more hall to explore before you must consider the comparatively small nuisance of the firmly locked bronze double-doors back in the Entrance Hall leading to who-knows-where… Those thoughts are mere tickling annoyances though, really. With so many like-minded comrades around you, enjoying the finer things in life, why bother worrying about such trivial affairs. The pleasures of the palate await!

Hopefully you’ve found this enticing…

More to come soon!

Scottie ^_^

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Mountain Player Owned Town Template 01

Michael “Hutch” Hutchison has been hard at work in this latest Player Owned Town template. This is both an entirely new layout and a new biome representing a high mountain pass with a lake. Players who have selected this template and who have locked their submission form will be automatically switched over in Release 29. Here are a few shots of the work in progress which can be visited as a nested town in Hometown in Release 28.

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Broadcast Automated Phonograph

Owners of a dynamic Player Owned Town will now be able to select the songs that play in their town using wax cylinders and a Broadcast Automated Phonograph. These songs will be played across the entire scene for all players to hear. We had originally planned for our world builders to add the music to the towns by hand, like we do any other scene, but as we have expanded the tools for the dynamic towns we realized we should extend those dynamic capabilities to music as well. We then realized we had already converted most of the music to wax cylinders. From there it was only a few steps (albeit complicated steps) to enable players to use those wax cylinders to build playlists for their towns.

Stay tuned next week where we unveil a version of the Automated Phonograph for use in player homes!

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GDC & SXSW 2016 Wrap Up

Once again we had a very successful presence at the 2016 incarnations of the Game Developers Conference, SXSW Interactive Conference, and SXSW Gaming Conference. Team members Finn Staber, Starr Long, and Richard Garriott all had events.

Starr Long gave a talk at both GDC and SXSW Gaming entitled Co-Development: Open & Agile Game Development where he talked about the three principles guiding development of Shroud of the Avatar: Transparency, Cadence, and Feedback.

Richard Garriott gave a talk about Personal Rapid Transport at SXSW Interactive, something he hopes will disrupt traditional transportation and is already in use at places like London’s Heathrow airport. Richard also spoke at a VR event at the Tech Ranch where he spoke about various experiences that VR could enhance like space travel and games. Richard finished up with an X-prize event where he challenged local Austin tech leaders to weigh in on the the Grand XChallenges that could be addressed through larger prize models.

Finn Staber had a huge week supporting both SXSW and GDC! The buzz at both conferences last week was very positive about Shroud of the Avatar, and he had a chance to demo the game for numerous developers at Unity, Valve and more! He an eventful week full of 18-hour days, and he had the honor to be first professional developer to take the Unity Developer Certification exam, and he aced it! He gave the closing talk at SXSW Interactive on “Game Design & Interactive Prototyping,” and it was the most attended talk at SXSW Gaming! He helped IGDA Austin welcome multiple international teams into the Austin game dev community last week by setting up 4 room-scale VR areas with HTC Vives for them to demo their experiences while in Austin. He then traveled to GDC early Monday morning, and coincidentally helped set up 2 more Vives in the big Unity booth before the expo! Valve invited him to demo his VR music creation protoype, TheWave, at the SteamVR booth on the GDC floor, and his music group performed at huge after-parties every day of the week! He jumped on the red-eye Wednesday night after the big Unity Party, and was back at the studio Thursday morning running strong! He gave an additional talk on Friday afternoon on “Multiplayer Game Design,” and volunteered to help 4 student-technology teams from Japan haul their gear across Austin after the expo in his pickup truck. Austin hospitality, done right:)

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Cross Promotion: Recap’s Second Album: “Pronoia”

Two years the Space Bards (now known as Recap) successfully Kickstarted their album, “Neon Milk”. We here at Portalarium are of course huge fans of theirs because of their amazing “Return of Lord British” (see below in all its glory).

As part of the Neon Milk Kickstarter we did a cross promotion with Recap that is finally coming to fruition in Release 27 and 28. All backers of Shroud of the Avatar received the “gypsy dance” emote (as seen in the video above) in Release 27. In Release 28 all backers who backed both Neon Milk at $10 and Shroud of the Avatar at $25+ will receive a wax cylinder in custom Neon Milk green with a medieval instrumental version of Lord British Returns and the same song as an ABC file in Sheet Music format playable with in game musical instruments. Those who backed Neon Milk at $25 and Shroud of the Avatar at $25+ will also receive Sheet Music instrumentals of select songs from Neon Milk.

They are now wrapping up the Kickstarter of their second album, “Pronoia” which met it’s initial $5k funding goal in just 2 days and
they have already hit their first stretch goal: $6k Epic custom album artwork created by Tortoise & Hare Creations’ Indi Martin. This Saturday they are having a telethon to try and hit another stretch goal like $7k Official “Pronoia” drink recipe & pint glasses from Relics by Rild for $25+ pledges, and more!

As part of this effort we are pleased to announce we are doing another cross promotion just like last time! Backers of both “Pronoia” and Shroud of the Avatar will receive one Wax Cylinder of an instrumental version of a secret song from Recap as well as 3 Sheet Music instrumentals of select songs from “Pronoia”. Please check out the “Pronoia” Kickstarter campaign and back them if you like what you hear and/or tune in to their telethon this Saturday where our very own Lord British is rumored to be making a guest appearance!

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Sandillox Presents: Name That Tune

Think you know enough about music? Want to test your music knowledge and possibly be a Name That Tune Champion with a $20 store add-on Grand Prize? Join Sandillox for a good time in Wizard’s Rest located behind Owls Head March 26th at 2:00 PM CDT.

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38 Day Countdown to Spring 2016 Pledge Expirations!

As we march toward the Final Wipe and Lot Selection milestone this summer, we are permanently expiring almost half pledges during the Spring 2016 Pledge Expiration Event, which will occur at 10:30 AM CST, May 2, 2016 (following the next wipe for Release 29). The remaining pledges, as well as new Player Owned Towns, will be expired during the Summer 2016 Expiration Event.

Spring 2016 Pledge Expirations

The following pledges will no longer be available for purchase or upgrade after May 2, 2016:

• Immortal Adventurer
• Virtual Collector
• Collector
• ** Navigator [originally expired August 31, 2015 for backers below Patron level]
• ** Developer [originally expired August 31, 2015 for backers below Patron level]
• Citizen
• Knight
• Lord
• Baron 1/2/3

[More Spring 2016 Expiration details…]

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Backer Shipping Addresses

In preparation for shipping backers’ physical pledge rewards later this year, we have added Shipping Address fields to your Account Profile page. To enter your shipping address, log in to the SotA website, select “Account” in top right corner, then select “Edit Profile” located in top left corner, beneath your Avatar image:

For country and regional tax assessment purposes, our tax accountants have requested that we start collecting a buyer’s physical/shipping address for all purchases, whether digital or physical. We’ve tried to streamline that process as much as possible, such that once you’ve entered a physical address we will pre-populate the address fields with your default address.

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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

• RPOTA Monthly $170 Writing Contest
  • 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 CDT)
  • 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
• EVL R27 Hat Quest (Mondays, 7pm CDT)
  • Every Virtue is Lasting [EVL] would like to tip their hats to the developers for providing the community with a cool hat for the last seventeen releases, and have decided to carry on the tradition and run the R27 Hat Quest every Monday at 7pm NBT (CST). Everyone who successfully completes the Hat Quest by touring several of the new zones will receive a legendary bucket helm as a reward (Soltown Tavern, /zone Gnick Gnack; details)
• “The Tavern Respite” RP Event (Mondays, 8pm CDT)
  • 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 first Monday of each month, the event returns to Bear Tavern, where it all began. If no locations are scheduled, the event will take place at Fire Lotus Tavern, by default. (/zone Elgarion De’Khali; details)!
• Order of Vengeance Guild Meeting (Mondays, 9pm CDT)
  • Held at the Guild Hall in Vengeance
• Challenge Dungeon Run (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10am & 7pm CDT)
  • This is a self-host event that meets at the Braemar Cemetery. Join whoever can make it for a dungeon run, adventure or something along those lines. Come prepared for combat. Learn how to set up your combat system if you need help.
• PaxLair Town Manager Hour (Tuesdays, 2:00pm CDT)
  • Join PaxLair’s Town Manager, Sean Silverfoot, to ask questions about PaxLair, being a Citizen, holding a lot and any other questions concerning PaxLair or any of it’s boroughs (Dragons Watch, Tenakill, Lockbrier, Island of Wonders, Knowhere, Sea Nymph Grotto & Serentiy Isle)
• EVL Dungeon Crawl (Tuesdays, 7pm CDT)
  • Every Virtue is Lasting will be holding a dungeon crawl every Tuesday to provide fun and experience for our members and guests. All are welcome! The meeting point is in Owls Head at the center of town near the trainer.
• Wednesday Knights (Wednesdays, 8pm CDT)
  • 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)
• EVL Virtue League PVP Tournament (Wednesdays, 7pm CDT)
  • Looking to break into the PVP scene but don’t want to be placed against established god-like players? We have you covered with two divisions, one for the newer, less experienced player, and one for the cream of the crop who have something to prove! (The Underworld at Aschfahl Festung; details)
• Stryker Sparhawk’s Happy Hour Wednesdays (Wednesdays, 8pm CDT)
  • Stryker will travel to one of the local Novia taverns for an hour to open a bar tab for drinks in hopes of sharing stories, news, critique of the arts, music, dancing, and otherwise unplanned mayhem. Zone /Stryker Sparhawk (details)
• Phoenix Republic PVE Nights (Thursdays & Fridays, 7pm CDT)
  • 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!
• Thursday Night Throwdown (TNT) a PVP Event (Thursdays, 10pm CDT)
  • PvP fight night – Come Watch or Participate. Team and individual fights. This is a no pressure event. This is for fun and for people to try their hand at PVP. The group matches allow newer players a chance get a taste of battle. Jam out as Apollox Evanheart plays the hardest music on Avatars Radio from ringside. (Obsidian Caverns; details)
• Novian Academy – Role Play Courses (Fridays, 4pm CDT)
  • Luka Melehan is hosting RP classes and practice sessions. (/zone Luka Melehan)
• Shardfall Madness (Fridays, 6pm CDT)
  • A PvP event. Contact Wind Silvermoon for details.
• Vengeance Madness (Fridays, 7pm CDT)
  • 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 CDT)
  • 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, March 26

• 6:00am CDT 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 CDT PaxLair Working Hours
  • Come to PaxLair and see what’s happening! For two hours (more or less) we work together on projects, create ideas and have fun together. It’s sort of a weekly time to gather and do things together. Everyone in Novia is welcome! (PaxLair, /zone Winfield or Sean Silverfoot)
• 11:00am CDT 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. (PaxLair)
• 2:00pm CDT Sandillox Presents – Name That Tune
  • Think you know enough about music? Want to test your music knowledge and possibly be a Name That Tune Champion with a $20 store add-on Grand Prize? Join Sandillox for a good time in Wizard’s Rest located behind Owls Head
• 3:00pm CDT 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)
• 6:00pm CDT 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 details)
• 9:00pm CDT Podcasts and Poetry from TheCaverns.net
  • Join Avatars Radio and TheCaverns.net as we share wonderful community poetry, stories and music! We have great talent in our community. Join us as we celebrate these wonderful artists!

Sunday, March 27

• 8:30am CDT 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)
• 2:30pm CDT Gustball Training
  • Want to learn how to play Gustball? Need some tips on how to improve your deck or hone your skills on the field! Join Coach Sheamus McGuinness of EVLs for a 30 minute Gustball lesson and practice session just before the big game at 3pm (/zone Sheamus McGuinness)
• 3:00pm CDT Gustball
  • The game of Gustball is a great community event, not dissimilar from soccer or football, where Avatars of all levels & skill can compete in a fun, friendly game that uses the Gust skill (1st level Air Magic spell) to blow a Gustball into your opponents goal. (/whisper or /zone Sand, Sheamus McGuinness, or Bambino Ludovate, details)
• 5:00pm CDT 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 CDT 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)
• 5:30pm CDT EVL Team vs. Team Tournament
  • EVL is putting the call out to any and all PvP’rs. Form a team of 3 and sign up for our first ever Team vs. Team tournament. The event will be held in The Underworld (same location as The Virtue League) at 5pm, March the 27th. Zone point for the night is Jar Laxle. We will be pitting teams of 3 vs. 3 against one another. The winning team will get a $10 add-on store credit for EACH member of the team. Get out there and get your teams formed, practice and prepare, we will have healers on hand for those that don’t make it to the end.If you have any questions or want to sign up before the day of the battle just send a whisper to Jar Laxle. Details
• 7:00pm CDT 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 CDT 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 27 Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events that may not be included here.

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Upcoming Events

2016.03.31 – Release 28
2016.04.15 – Final Lord of the Manor Britannia Manor Visit & Dinner
2016.04.22 – PAX East
2016.04.28 – Release 29
2016.05.13 – Final Duke Roundtable and Portalarium Office Tour
2016.05.26 – Release 30
2016.06.01 – The Hearth of Britannia: Legends of the Hearth III
2016.06.30 – Release 31
2016.07.28 – Release 32

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Recommended Projects to Back

Star Traders is a competitive cargo-delivery Sci-Fi board game being made by David Ladyman who worked with us for many years at Origin Systems. Players captain their starships, jumping from planet to planet, racing to deliver their cargoes before the other traders. The game ratchets up the interaction and the fun as you gain great wealth and the Emperor’s respect, giving you the opportunity to petition to be made Star Tsar, ruler of all trade in the galaxy. But stumbling blocks are around every corner as your fellow traders pursue the same goal.

It is actually 5 games in 1, with a version for everyone — from easy versions for ages 7+ and 10+ to more competitive gameplay. The family version in the middle is just right for most players. The galaxy is a parody of your favorite Science Fiction books, movies & TV shows, so don’t be surprised at who you might meet along the way. They only have 1 day left so please back them today!