Update of the Avatar #174 – 2016.04.29: Final 3 Days for 15% Bonus & Pledge Expirations!, Duel with Devs During Spring Festival Telethon, Play Release 29 Now, and More!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

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

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The Spring Festival of the Avatar Telethon!

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

The Spring Festival of the Avatar Telethon will include a PVP Dual with the Devs, deep dives, lots of prize giveaways* (like coins, t-shirts, store credits, even pledges!), and even some surprises, so you don’t want to miss a moment of it!

Warning: Telethon is Rated PG-13 for Alcoholic Content
(might get upgraded to Rated-R depending on rate of pledges)

Drinking / Dancing / Singing Rules:

• For every $2500 spent (new money only) Chris, Richard, and Starr (and other Devs that choose to participate) have a choice of 1 of the following:
  • 1 Shot/Sip
  • 1 dance (audience suggestions considered)
  • 1 verse of a song (audience suggestions considered)

As a special bonus, we are offering Telethon Funding Stretch Goal Rewards to any backer that pledges a minimum of $5 from the start of the telethon, until Midnight May 2 (Spending Store Credit to make $5 minimum purchase does not apply). The Spring Festival Telethon Funding Stretch Goal Rewards are:

• $10,000 – /flowers emote (rains flower petals)
• $25,000 – Flower Crown (increases length of /flowers emote)
• $50,000 – Giant Butterfly Pet

Here is the current schedule of events (times and content subject to change):

• 12:00 pm CDT: R29 Post Mortem
• 2:00 pm CDT: Story, NPCs, & Companions
• 3:30 pm CDT: Player Housing and Player Owned Towns
• 4:30 pm CDT: Crafting, Food, Agriculture & Economy
• 6:00 pm CDT: Combat, Resistances, Targeting
• 7:30 pm CDT: PVP
• 8:30 pm CDT: Players vs. Devs PVP Deathmatch Brawl in Chaos Caverns (connected to Virtue Oasis, map)
• 10:00 pm CDT: Goodbyes and Thank Yous with everyone still standing!

* There will be some really awesome prizes awarded during the telethon, but you have to be present in the IRC chatroom to qualify for each drawing.

You can post questions you want answered on the post or in IRC during the telethon.

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Final 3 Days for 15% Bonus & Spring 2016 Pledge Expirations!

As we march toward the Final Wipe and Lot Selection milestone this summer, we are permanently expiring almost half of all pledges during the Spring 2016 Pledge Expiration Event, at 10:30 AM 10:00 PM CT, May 2, 2016. The remaining ten pledges, as well as new Player Owned Towns, will be expired during the Summer 2016 Expiration Event. The pledges expiring IN JUST 3 DAYS include: Immortal Adventurer, Virtual Collector, Collector, Citizen, Knight, Lord, and Baron.

If you were thinking of purchasing (or upgrading) a pledge before they expire, or purchasing an add-on item, player owned town, service voucher, or Make A Difference item, then now’s a great time to do it! Thru 10:30 AM 10:00 PM CT, May 2, 2016 we’ll add an additional 15% bonus to your Store Credit!

** New Monthly Payment Plans Have Been Extended An Extra Month (from June to July)! **

[More Spring 2016 Bonus & Expiration details…]

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Play Release 29 Now!

Release 29 successfully launched yesterday, April 28, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, logging in, and checking out the new changes! Lots of new content to explore, including:

• Over 40 New scenes including Brittany, Crypt of the Avatar, Spindrift Passage, Paladis Passage, and more
• Love Storyline First Playable
• New Targeting Interface
• Enchantments and Tool Engraving for Alchemists
• POT Only Lot Deeds
• New Player Run Towns
• Lot Selection Sequence Test
• Performance Optimizations
• …and much more

Check out the Release 29 Instructions update for detailed information about all the new content.

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 28!

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 29 Player Instructions

Release 29 Known Issues

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Brittany Video Walk-Through

For his continuing Making of Brittany Dev+ forum thread Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldiva did a video walk-through of Brittany (central) where he describes the various sections of the central area of the capital of Novia. This part of Brittany went live yesterday in Release 29. The other neighborhoods of Brittany including Brittany Estates, Brittany Fields, Brittany Alleys, and Brittany Wharf will start appearing in the game starting in Release 30.

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Meet the Companions (Offline Feature)

From a forum post by Scott “Lum the Mad” Jennings

Our plan for Episode 1 is to have three companions that can meet and travel with the Avatar on his/her journey. You may remember that we have three paths of prophecy that the Avatar follows as well, and this is not a coincidence.

The first companion we’ll meet is Conrad Dupre, Knight of Norgard.

Conrad’s lineage is that of a soldier’s soldier. He has fought under the banner of Valhold for his entire life, from his childhood as a squire to a dissolute noble to the years of struggle against the Kobolds (a race which he both respects and despises). In addition to his mastery of swords, shields, and heavy armor, he has a veteran’s knowledge of Life magic, as well – not a great deal, but enough to keep himself and those around him fighting when others would fall.

Most who know him respect him, for he has little tolerance for cowardice or fear. But if he has any failing he also has little of a knight’s respect for those under his care. Norgard is at war, and he will brook no weakness in its time of greatest peril. Conrad knows much of the martial arts, but unlike his impeccably forged sword Silverthorn, the heart of his courage still requires tempering.

Avatars will meet him early on in their journey through the Path of Courage, in the fortified garrison of Resolute.

The second companion that we’ll meet today is Fiona Fitzowen, the travelling bard and companion to the Avatar on their path of Love.

Fiona is a bard in every sense of the word – a master of the lute, someone who will usually sing a song when prompted (and often when not) and without fail, will have something to say about the situtation she finds herself in (and she seems to find herself in many) which will infuriate some and entertain more.

Fiona is not one for fighting, but does keep a small crossbow ready when necessary (or when on the road and hunger beckons). She knows a smattering of magical arts, but like most travelling bards, just enough to be amusing.

Many claim to have stolen Fiona’s heart; it is an illusion she is happy to perpetuate. In fact, if you ask who her current love is, she will quickly change the subject. For someone who makes a living at telling stories, that is a tale she is not yet willing to tell. She is drawn to the avatar, but not in the romantic way everyone assumes. But… that is a tale she is better off spinning.

Fiona can usually be found in Peladjar’s Tavern in Ardoris, singing for her lodging and her amusement.

Finally, we meet Ariel Rosehaven.

One of Novia’s most learned scholars, Ariel has been walking the path of Truth longer than many have been alive. Not one for being kept in the confines of a library, she will think nothing of taking up her quarterstaff and a bindle filled with a few of her beloved books and going to test in the field what others are content to merely argue about from safe confines. She has studied alongside Kobold technicians and Elven lorespeakers (racism being one of the many things that will cause her to ‘lecture’) and her knowledge of magic is second to few.

When she heard that an outlander had been seen at the site of an elven massacre, she, of course, had to meet this person and take their measure. What happens next is hard to predict. Many have underestimated the unassuming older woman in a cloak and quarterstaff, and learned that the truth is not always what it seems.

“NEVER ask a lady her age, or her past. Or anything else she is likely to tell you.”

The Avatar will meet Ariel Rosehaven in Aerie. It simply is not up for discussion.

We plan to discuss these in more detail during the telethon Monday, so get your questions ready

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Crypt of the Avatar

The ancient Crypt of the Avatar, as found by Aren and Syenna in “Blade of the Avatar,” is open for exploration by those who have fought their way through the halls of Necropolis. Much can be learned here of the danger facing Ardoris and Novia… This scene went live with Release 29 yesterday and Richard “RrMatey” Matey provided us some screenshots of the scene.

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New Player Run Towns: Coastal and Interior Forests

For Release 29 we added 10 new Player Run Towns to Novia. These towns are not owned by any players nor do they contain any story elements. However they do include a small core of services and NPCs including a crafting pavilion with assorted crafting stations, various shopkeepers, a bank, and a tavern. They also include over a 100 player lots of all sizes.

Coastal Forest: The Coastal Forest PRT is based of the Forest 01 Player Owned Town Template (aka PAXLair) and has multiple water features including a waterfall, river, lake, and a small island off the coast.

Interior Forest: The Interior Forest PRT is based on the Forest 02 PoT template (which is in turn a forested variation of the Grassland template) and is forested plain with river running through it.

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Shroud in the News: R29 and Richard Garriott at PAX East 2016

It has been a busy week for Shroud in the news with lots of coverage, mostly from Richard’s presence at PAX East.

MMORPG.com: Release 29 – The Great Divide: Red Thomas wrote another interesting article for MMORPG, this time focusing on how we handle big changes with our community like the POT only Lot Deeds. Here’s an excerpt from Red’s article titled Column: Release 29 – The Great Divide?

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of this project, but there are definitely some months that make for more entertaining articles than others.  I really kind of expected this one and the next couple to be relatively slow as several members of the dev team switch to working on some of the underpinning that turns a cool project into a sustainable game.

Obviously, the majority of the team is still working on content for the game, so there’s always going to be new stuff to talk about.  All the major systems are pretty much in the game by this point, though.  Iterations on existing systems and mechanics should be just a matter of fleshing things out, adding complexity, and making things more intuitive and new-player-friendly.  Well, you might think that…

This month’s update is going to be a little different than most.  I’ll go over a few of the things you can expect from the 29^th release for Shroud of the Avatar, which frankly deserves a lot more time than I’ll have to give it.  Then we’ll take a look at one really major change that has me a little on edge, and finally get into some drama.  Man, I hate drama, so you know it’s something worth talking about if I’m willing to endure it for the sake of an article.

PAX East 2016 Indie MMO Panel: Jenesee Grey of City State Games, Dallas Dickinson of QC Games, Brad McQuaid of Visionary Realms and Richard Garriott were all part of an MMORPG.com organized panel that discussed the challenges of making MMO’s, the pros and cons of working for a large publisher, and the industry in general after striking out on their own. Chris Neal over at MMOGames.com covered the panel briefly here.

Massively OP Richard Garriott interview: Eliot Lefebre interviewed Richard Garriott about “launch” at PAX East and how much traditional terminology is challenging to use with our new development model. Here’s an excerpt from the article titled Richard Garriott Discusses Shroud of the Avatar’s “Launch” and Future:

It might seem as if Shroud of the Avatar has been in early access for a very long time, probably because it has. Technically, it’s still in an early access state. But according to Richard Garriott, whom I spoke to at this year’s PAX East, a great deal of that has to do with the fact that our traditional terms for test phases have little to no meaning any longer. The game is on Release 28, its servers have been up aside from scheduled maintenance for more than a year, there have been no unexpected patches of downtime. In every way, it’s ready for something closer to release.

So this year is the year of its “release,” but it’s also not really that big of a change. In July, the final character wipe will take place, freeing players from any concern of lost data and marking the de facto launch of the MMO side of the game. By December, the first episode of the game’s story content will be fully released. At that point, the game is out and it’s launched, so if you want to mark your calendars accordingly, it’s 2016 as the year of the launch.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the game will be finished; again, there’s the issue of our traditional terminology not working very well in light of the changes to how games are developed and tested. The game state is being controlled in part by the need for marketing, using early test terminology so that players don’t expect something the game won’t deliver. A marketing push will accompany the full story launch, but it’s still not quite the same as a launch, and much of that comes down to the nature of software terminology as we understand it.

Gamers Nexus: Why Big Publishers Struggle with MMOs plus Richard on VR: Gamers Nexus spoke with Richard on MMO development and publishing, the challenges faced by teams, the “WoW” cloning effect, and how his Shroud of the Avatar is different. They also took time to discuss Richard’s intrigue with virtual reality and VR headsets.

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Finn Staber at the Unity Roadshow

Carl Callewaert from Unity Technologies and Finn Staber from Portalarium spoke at the Unity Multiplayer + VR Roadshow in Austin at the Microsoft office. They covered the many new amazing Unity features announced at GDC, including Muliplayer, Progressive Lightmap Baking, VR support for Vive + Oculus, and HoloLens development. You can see the slides from their presentation here.

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Avatars Radio Presents: The “Traditional” Firelotus Release 29 Party!!!

[From a Release 29 Events Forum Post]

Avatars it is that time again. Time to celebrate the rebirth of the land we live in
Take a break from trying to regain your strength and pick up a pint of the Fire Water.

The amazing Community Lead and Avatars Radio DJ FireLotus, will be celebrating the coming of a new release in a style only she can!

Join FireLotus and our amazing host POT of Virtue Oasis (EVL)
With the BIGGEST Party of R29!

TIME: Friday, April 29th, 2016 2pm – 4pm NBT
Location of Party: Virtue Oasis, Hidden Vale, NB
(see location at SotAMap.com)

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Final Weekend for The Emperors’ and Empresses’ New Clothes

This incredibly extravagant line of new clothing pieces are only available for 3 more days in the Add On Store. These are highly detailed recreations of actual items worn by historical Novian figures. Each piece is guaranteed to be an exact replica and is made from only the finest of materials. You will be sure to impress anyone who sees you wearing these fine garments. Better hurry before they disappear forever!

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New Furniture, Trees, In-Door Plants, and Torture Devices

Over two dozen new items in Release 29 that are available now in the Add-On Store. Now’s a great time pick up some of these items and get an additional 15% Bonus thru 10:00 PM CT, Monday, May 2!

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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
• “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. (teleport to 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 (map). 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. (map)
• EVL Monster MashDungeon 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 (map)
• 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. Teleport to 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!
• Novian Academy – Role Play Courses (Fridays, 4pm CDT)
  • Luka Melehan is hosting RP classes and practice sessions. (teleport to Luka Melehan)
• Shardfall Madness (Fridays, 6pm CDT)
  • A PvP event. Contact Wind Silvermoon for details.
• 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, teleport to Bowen Bloodgood; details)

Friday, April 29

• 2pm CDT Avatar’s Radio Presents: The Traditional FireLotus Release 29 Dance Party!!!
  • Avatars it is that time again. Time to celebrate the rebirth of the land we live in. Join FireLotus and our amazing host, EVL, at the POT of Virtue Oasis (details)
• 7pm CDT Phoenix Republic PVE Nights
  • 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!
• 7pm CDT Vengeance Madness PVP
  • This is an Open PvP event where everyone fights it out in a royal rumble to see who the ultimate death dealer is! An hour of PvP madness that you cannot miss. The person who ends up with the most kills will be the champion! This is an opportunity to test skills, templates, items, and strategy, but most of all to have fun! An hour full of madness you cannot miss out on! Whether you are a usual PvP’er or not… Anyone is welcome to come out and join us. Winners may win entries into the BMC-Grid Iron. (City of Vengeance; teleport to Bambino LudoVate; map).
• 7:30pm CDT Friday Night Astronomy
  • For anyone interested in Astronomy in New Britannia or just like looking up at the stars and hanging out. I host an astronomy course every Friday night at 7:30pm CST to 8:30pm CST. Whether it’s a crowd or just one person I will be happy to be your host at Caer Dracwych. Teleport to Bowen Bloodgood. (Caer Dracwych, map)

Saturday, April 30

• 7:00am 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, map; or teleport to 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. (Alternating locaions; details)
• 12:00pm CDT Welcome Quest 29
  • 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. To join in just “/zone Greagoir” and you will be transported to the event. Starting city can be different every time. (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)

Sunday, May 1

• 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, map; or teleport to Winfield; teamSpeak: 43.245.163.15:10099)
• 11:00am CDT Hospitaller Weekly Voice Meeting
  • Everyone is welcome to our player community’s weekly Hospitaller meeting. It is open to anyone and everyone, not just Hospitallers. We talk about many things and work hard to find ways to help new players. This meeting is one hour long and we have additional sidebars after the meeting. (Soltown; Discord Chat Channel: https://discordapp.com/channels/158859164490137601/158859164490137601)
• 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 (Owl’s head, map; or teleport to 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 teleport to 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, map; see forum post for 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, map; see forum post for 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, map; or teleport to 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, teleport to Winfield; details)

Be sure and check out the Release 29 Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events that may not be included here.

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Upcoming Events

2016.05.02 – The Spring Festival of the Avatar Telethon!
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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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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Recommended Projects to Back

BrightLocker

BrightLocker, the first crowd publishing platform for games, launched Wednesday. Brightlocker was founded by fellow ex-Originites, Mark Rizzo and Ruben Cortez, members of the original Ultima Online Network Ops team from back in the day. Starr Long commented “BrightLocker is a logical evolution of what we have been seeing happen in game development and I’ve been happy to offer some advice along the way. I definitely recommend participating in this historic moment in co-development.” Log in now and use their game submission wizard to enter your idea into the next voting round. From there, discuss your idea and encourage votes from the community – top ideas will move on to the finals for a chance to be developed into an actual game. If you win, you’d get your name in the game credits and a share of all the revenue. You can also cast your vote on other game ideas and help pick the next game they professionally develop. And of course for bragging rights you can earn rewards, achievements and digital currency along the way.  Check them out and sign up here: www.brightlocker.com