Greetings Fellow Avatars!
Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:
- Port Graff Revisited
- Summer Telethon of the Avatar Part 2
- Land Rush Update
- Password Change Request
- Static Player Owned Town Policy Statement
- 15% Bonus and 10 Day Countdown to Summer 2016 Expiration Event, Part 2
- Upcoming Events
- Dawn of New Britannia Community Trailer Contest
- Grand Opening of Vyrin & Womby’s Bookstores
- Community Resources – Players Helping Players
- World Builder/Level Designer Job Opening
- Recommended Projects to Back
Port Graff Revisited
Port Graff is a cloned scene based on Kingsport. It is getting rebuilt this release and will go live with Release 33. Note that when we un-clone these scenes we do NOT change lot placements. We only make cosmetic changes of building styles, terrain, and foliage. In the case of Port Graff, it is getting a plot specific additions related to the gem trade between the Graff Gem Mines and Graff Island along with a host of other visual changes.
[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldivar]
Hey guys, Sorcerous Steve here to give you a sneak peak at the uncloning process for Port Graff!
Port Graff started out as a Kingsport Clone and has undergone major renovations for its R33 release.
Port Graff is located on the western coast of Drachvald and serves as a docking point for the valuable gems coming from the Graff Gem Mines. The gems make their way to Port Graff via cart and are placed on boats for their transport to Graff Island where they are sculpted and added to weaponry and jewelry.
Carts filled with gems enter the Port Graff checkpoint. Port Graff is a mining port town heavy on trade with an abundance of guards protecting valuable shipments of gems.
Port Graff waterfront.
Gems are loaded onto boats and shipped to Graff Island, which can be spotted off in the distance.
Player homes line the boarded mud streets
Dawn sets in on the mining port town of Port Graff.
Small streams flow through the town of Port Graff.
Stay tuned for the next update on Port Graff!
Esteben Zaldivar
Level Designer
Summer Telethon of the Avatar Part 2
Avatars! Are you ready to continue celebrating with us the biggest event to hit New Britannia since the great cataclysm?
At Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC) on August 22, 2016, we are expiring ALL remaining pledges, including: Adventurer, Founder, Royal Artisan, Explorer, Ancestor, Edelmann, Knight Marshal, Lord Marshal, Duke, and Lord of the Manor 2. To commemorate the final expiration of all remaining pledges, we are holding the 12-hour Summer Telethon Part 2, starting at 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC) and running right up to the Final Pledge Expirations at Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC).
You can pre-post your questions in the telethon article’s comments section, or post questions during the telethon in Discord chat.*
What exciting events can you expect throughout the day? An array of fun activities and engaging content, many of which you can directly participate in with us in-game! We will also be giving away a ton of fabulous prizes*, and if the following stretch goals are met, we will be adding amazing new content into the game.
Did you see what was unlocked during last month’s telethon? Let’s make it happen again in Part 2!
Help us to achieve the following goals during the telethon!
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 (Spending Store Credit to make $5 minimum purchase does not apply). The Summer Telethon of the Avatar Funding Stretch Goal Rewards are:
- $10,000: /airplane emote
- $25,000: ? and ! Hats
- $35,000: Aeronaut Outfit
- $50,000: Accordion musical instrument
- $65,000: Mini Automaton Pet
- $80,000: Baby Clockwork Dragon Pet
- + More if we go beyond!
Cheer on the Devs!
For every $2,500 donated, all developers on camera have to either dance, sing, or drink a shot of alcohol.
Additionally, we will be spinning the Wheel of Fortune & Doom! (we borrowed this idea from our friends over at Crowfall). The wheel will have 14 items at any given time, but dozens of total prizes ultimately will be given away! This includes developers that, if selected, have to either dance, sing, or drink a shot of alcohol.
As the wheel is spun, what is selected will be replaced by something in the list below. Items already selected will be removed for a time (some may not come back onto the wheel for the rest of the telethon. Keep in mind that some of these may never come up, so cross your fingers for your preferred item!
Wheel of Doom Items: (NOTE: not a complete list and list subject to change)
- Blood Reliquaries 10% off for 1 hour
- All Lot Deeds 25% off for 30 min
- Viking Houses 20% off for 1 hour
- Juggles 20% for 1 hour
- Elven Elder Armor 10% off for 1 hour
- Pets 20% off for 1 hour
- Hot Air Balloon & Airship 25% off for 1 hour
- Stone Statues (incl Dragons!) 15% off for 30 min
- Obsidian Homes 20% off for 30 min
- Pipes 30% off for 1 hour
- Wearable Bundles 20% off for 1 hour
- Prosperity Tools 10% off for 1 hour
- Wings 20% for 1 hour
- /breathefires 20% for 1 hour
- Kobold City 5% off for 30 min
- Viking City 5% off for 30 min
- Kobold Town 10% for 1 hour
- Viking Town 10% for 1 hour
- Viking Village Keep 10% for 1 hour
- Kobold Village Keep 10% for 1 hour
- Viking Village 10% for 1 hour
- Kobold Village 10% for 1 hour
- Kobold Row 10% for 1 hour
- Viking Row 10% for 1 hour
We also have these exciting prizes to give away throughout the telethon!*
- Store Credits
- Town Lot Property Deeds
- Obsidian Tower Village Home
- Star Citizen Aeronaut Helmet Starter Bundle
- Cloaks, Juggle, Musical Instruments, Pets, Prosperity Tool, Kobold, and other bundles
- Rare Lord British relics
- Special Challenge Coins
- Shroud of the Avatar t-shirts
- Sword of Midras audiobook AND hardcover copies!
- More Razer Gear
Here is a peek at what to watch out for as the telethon progress:
Schedule (All times and content subject to change)
- Noon: Welcome to the Summer Telethon!
- 12:30 PM: Community Trailer Contest winners announced!
- 1:00 PM: R32 Postmortem Q&A continues
- 2:00 PM: Studio Tour – Dev Rampage!
- 3:00 PM: Community Hour 1 – Getting Involved
- 4:00 PM: Story & NPCs Deep Dive
- 5:00 PM: Spite and Port Graff: Uncloning Process
- 6:00 PM: Player Housing Deep Dive
- 7:00 PM: Community Hour 2 – Contributors
- 8:00 PM: Crafting Deep Dive
- 9:00 PM: Combat Deep Dive
- 10:00 PM: Items & Scene Design
- 11:00 PM: Adventure Tour and AMA
Watch The Telethon on YouTube!
You will also be able to watch the telethon on Twitch.tv/Shroudoftheavatar! If you wish to win prizes during the Telethon event, be sure to still be in Discord chat!
Warning: Telethon is Rated PG-13 for Alcoholic Content
(might get upgraded to Rated-R depending on rate of pledges)
See you on the livestream chat at Noon this coming August 22nd!
* There will be some really awesome prizes awarded during the telethon, but you have to be present in the Discord chatroom to qualify for each drawing. Please keep in mind that questions and feedback related to each segment will be given priority and really verbose questions may be skipped, as they can be a challenge to shorten and summarize live on the air. In brief… please keep your questions… brief. Only 3 Questions per person!
Land Rush Update
We’ve passed the half-way point of lot selection groups and are now in the home stretch! As of this update, we have well over 1,000 lots that have been claimed with thousands more yet to be claimed as the upcoming tiers open up this weekend.
Brittany Fields overtakes Brittany Central in the number of lots claimed at 143. Away from the Brittany area, Elad’s Lighthouse is quite in demand at 83 lots claimed. There is still plenty of lots left in Ardoris, Brookside, Graff Island, Point West, all throughout much of Brittany, and many other towns across New Brittania!
The rest of the Edelmann (Groups 46-54) and Citizen (Groups 55-63) pledge holders are now able to claim starting today and through this weekend! Here is the lot selection schedule for these groups:
EDELMANN: Groups 46-54:
- Benefactor – Group 52: August 12 at 01:00 CDT (06:00 UTC)
- Benefactor – Group 53: August 12 at 06:00 CDT (11:00 UTC)
- Benefactor – Group 54: August 12 at 11:00 CDT (16:00 UTC)
CITIZEN: Groups 55-63:
- Royal Founder – Group 55: August 13 at 11:00 CDT (16:00 UTC)
- Royal Founder – Group 56: August 13 at 16:00 CDT (21:00 UTC)
- Royal Founder – Group 57: August 13 at 21:00 CDT (August 14 at 02:00 UTC)
- Founder – Group 58: August 14 at 02:00 CDT (07:00 UTC)
- Founder – Group 59: August 14 at 07:00 CDT (12:00 UTC)
- Founder – Group 60: August 14 at 12:00 CDT (17:00 UTC)
- Benefactor – Group 61: August 14 at 17:00 CDT (22:00 UTC)
- Benefactor – Group 62: August 14 at 22:00 CDT (August 15 at 03:00 UTC)
- Benefactor – Group 63: August 15 at 03:00 CDT (08:00 UTC)
All other group times are listed in the Lot Selection announcement on the main website. The last group will be Group 91 on August 24 at 03:00 CDT (08:00 UTC). After all group times have passed, anyone will have a chance to place a lot.
To get daily lot selection updates, follow the game on Twitter at www.twitter.com/shroudofavatar, or keep the above Lot Selection announcement bookmarked for easy access!
Password Change Request
Earlier this year, a few well-known games and sites were compromised and lists of usernames and passwords became widely available. Yesterday, it was revealed that DOTA2 was the latest victim.
We continue to be fortunate enough to not be one of the victims of these attacks. However, we have experienced a hacking attack that attempted to use these leaked username/password combinations to try and login to Shroud and have succeeded several times thus far. As a precaution, we temporarily disabled login to the official website until 6:00 PM CDT (11:00 PM UTC) on August 11, 2016. However, if you have played one of the games that has been compromised, you may be one of the victims we identified.
You must make sure your username, or at least your password is unique on our site. We insist that you change your password if you have any doubt. FYI, this is good security behavior in general.
If you wish to change your password, click on “Account” to go to your Account Page, click “Edit Profile” link beneath your profile image, and enter a new password on your Profile Settings page.
Static Player Owned Town Policy Statement
[From a forum post by Starr “Darkstarr” Long]
Greetings Player-Owned Town Owners (and other interested parties),
We are still working on a few remaining Player-Owned Town (POT) Templates (like the Swamp Island), but as soon as we have what we consider adequate coverage across biomes, we can begin Static POT construction. We hope to start as soon as Q4. As part of this, we wanted to update everyone on our policies regarding Static POTs.
- Order: Construction order will be based on size and purchase date (i.e. the oldest and biggest will be built first).
- Contact: When we are ready to begin construction, we will contact the owner with any questions we have about customization requests.
- Templates: All construction will be done off of the base templates. Requests for other maps (ex. Kingsport) as base templates can be submitted, but it is very unlikely they are suitable for POT construction due to size and/or space limitations. This is because all POTs have to be built with the maximum size in mind of a Metropolis.
- Customization: We will make every attempt to get as close as we can to your customization requests as constrained by Item 3.
- Permanence: Once you choose Static and we begin construction of your POT, you can never convert that Custom Static town to Dynamic. It will be permanently Static. Lots work completely differently in static scenes versus Dynamic scenes and now that we are persistent we cannot change existing static lots into dynamic lots.
- Change Requests: If you want to make changes to your town after it is in the game, you will need to either upgrade to a larger town size or pay for those changes (charges will be determined based on scale of the change requests). Some requests cannot be made at all because of persistence (example: changing or deleting existing lots).
- Courtesy Unlock: If you wish to switch to Dynamic after reviewing these policies, we will provide you one courtesy unlock of your Player-Owned Towns Submission Form to convert to Dynamic.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to working with those of you who choose Static as your option.
15% Summer Bonus and 10 Day Countdown to Expiration Event, Part 2
As we march toward the conclusion of the Great Land Rush, we are preparing for Part 2 of our Summer 2016 Expiration Event and the end of the 15% Summer Bonus Promotion!
Summer 2016 Expiration Event, Part 2
- At Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC) on August 22, 2016, we are expiring ALL remaining pledges, including: Adventurer, Founder, Royal Artisan, Explorer, Ancestor, Edelmann, Knight Marshal, Lord Marshal, Duke, and Lord of the Manor 2. To commemorate the final expiration of all remaining pledges, we are holding a 12-hour Summer Telethon Part 2, starting at 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC) and running right up to the Final Pledge Expirations at Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC).
Get Your 15% Summer Bonus!
If you were thinking of purchasing (or upgrading) a pledge or Player Owned Town before they expire, then now’s a great time to do it! For all new purchases (including pledges, pledge upgrades, add-on items, player owned towns and upgrades, Make a Difference items, and service vouchers) between 12:00 am CDT June 24, 2016 and Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC) August 22, 2016, we’ll add an additional 15% bonus to your Store Credit!
Upcoming Events
2016.08.16 – GDC Europe
2016.08.22 – Summer Telethon Part 2 + Final Pledge Expirations Episode 1 (Pledge Expirations at Midnight)
2016.08.25 – Release 33
2016.09.02 – DragonCon 2016
2016.09.21 – Austin Games Conference
2016.09.29 – Release 34
2016.11.04 – SotACon
Community Activities
Visit the official Community Calendar to see the great lineup of activities our amazing community has planned for this weekend! And be sure to check out the Release 32 Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events.
Event of the Week – 4Beasts – Grand Opening!
On August 13th will the door of your favourite pet shop open again. We want to celebrate the Grand Opening with you, my dear customers. Therefor, we will make a quiz about your knowledge regarding pets and taming. Bring pen and paper with you. The 3 winners can either choose between non-combat pledge reward pets (clockwork or normal) or private taming lesson under GM Tamer (me [Sindariya]) with starter set (5 collars + whistle).
You will find 4Beasts on Islands of Wonders. Just before the gates of the town.
Dawn of New Britannia Community Trailer Contest
Get those eye popping trailer ideas ready, Avatars! This is your chance to show that Shroud of the Avatar is the game, and community, new players will want to experience next! The ‘Dawn of New Britannia Community Trailer Contest’ is underway!
You have from August 4, 2016 (Now) to August 21, 2016 (11:59 PM CDT) to design a video trailer for all of New Britannians to see and admire. Glamorous city districts, creative player-owned towns, luxurious housing, intense combat, majestic outdoor areas, and so much more is available to proudly show off. There’s a nearly infinite potential in creating a trailer that makes even the most hardy New Britannia cry out in joy, and to want to share the video with others.
- Grand Prize: $1,000 Store Credit, SotA signed t-shirt, Sword of Midras book, SotA COTOs coin, and a specially signed congratulations letter from Richard Garriott.
- 2nd Place: $500 Store Credit, SotA signed t-shirt, Sword of Midras book, SotA COTOs coin
- 3rd Place: $250 Store Credit, SotA signed t-shirt, Sword of Midras book, SotA COTOs coin
Grand Opening of Vyrin & Womby’s Bookstores
Starting in Release 11, Womby and Viryn have operated bookstores in the land of Novia. Their grand opening since the final wipe is now in two locations! Visit their charming setup in Brittany Central, as well as in the city of Aerie:
Vyrin: We are happy to announce that our first offering is the R32 Unreliable Travel Guide. This highly suspect journal has been published since release 12 by two drunken layabouts. Now their highly speculative, alcohol-fueled musings will not only be available on the forum, but also at both new bookstores.
Each of the six stories below will correspond to one book for sale (due to book length restrictions). Like any respectable journal, they will only have a limited number of copies. Make sure to acquire yours before they are sold out. Once the hundred copies of each story are gone, no more will be created. Ever! However, we will put on sale all the back issues of the UTG over the coming year. Stay tuned to the forum, and check back at the stores to see when they go on sale.
Womby and I have many plans for future stories and events. We are always willing to help anyone with any book-related or publishing questions. We continue to offer friendly, supportive peer review at the SotA Writing Round Table.
Do not hesitate to ask if we can be of assistance, and please stop by and visit our new stores!
Community Resources – Players Helping Players
The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website.
Crafting Resources of the Week
- SotACrafter.com: This is an amazing site that simply gets RIGHT to the point. Need a recipe? Simply use the drop-down menu and voila! Instant recipes to peruse.
- SotACraft.com: This is a one-stop-shop for crafting recipes and instructions. Beautifully laid out with images for each recipe, sorted by category!
Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community.
World Builder/Level Designer Job Opening
We currently have an opening for a junior-level to senior-level World Builder/Level Designer for Shroud of the Avatar. Qualifications for the “ideal candidate” are:
- Minimum 2 years industry experience for junior-level (preferably on a shipped game)
- Unity3D proficiency
- Scripting ability
- Experience building, texturing, and decorating natural, terrain based exterior environments
- An artistic eye for detail, with strong scene compositional skills
If you’d like to join the Portalarium Tribe working on the ground-breaking Shroud of the Avatar, please submit your resume to jobs@portalarium.com. Provide links to your work (if possible), including actual game play, videos footage, and document form (images, maps, and event descriptions).
Recommended Projects to Back
Eric “Wingman” Peterson and team are bringing back six-degrees-of-freedom combat by blasting 90’s action game favorite, Descent, into the 21st Century with current-generation gaming technology. Descent: Underground is more than a graphics upgrade. Get ready for multiple types of customizable ships! Prepare for upgradable weapons and sensors with richly-detailed tech trees. Brace yourself for destructible voxel maps with new power-ups and mod tools to make your own maps and more!
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.
A reminder to be sure that support@portalarium.com is unblocked from your e-mail account!
Question: Are there any news about the Guild Alliance feature? There is an important and easy to implement feature that is the “Alliance Chat Channel”, where multiple guilds would be able to interact. It would help a lot, not only the small guilds out there, but also the big guilds who wants to organize itself in various groups, like: City guard, City government, Main guild and so on. This especially important for this moment, when the game hasn’t launched yet and many players are still waiting for the end of the Early Access.
Hi Leostemplar,
This is Berek, community manager. Great question! I will check with the team. If we don’t have an immediate answer for you, I’ll be sure to save it for the upcoming telethon event at the very least!
Hello, Berek.
Re-reading the update I believe where it says “You can pre-post your questions in the article’s comments section, or post questions during the telethon in Discord chat.” was a case of bad copy paste from the actual Telethon article. I thank you for your diligence taking my question from here.
Peace,
Leos.
More PvP new’s plz !
Thanks
Any chance to connect Port Graff to Kingsport or any other trading town by boat ?
“Brittany Alleys overtakes Brittany Central in the number of lots claimed at 162. Ardoris is second in demand at 157 lots claimed. There is still plenty of lots left in Aerie, Desolis, Etceter, Kingsport, all throughout the rest of Brittany, and many other towns across New Brittania!”
This portion of the news article is a fundamentally flawed analysis of the land rush. It is factually inaccurate and it looks like someone looked at the great community project R32 Land Rush chart and didn’t understand the information provided on it: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_hs82dzPHslknz8jv0euMY_xwyuMbv5CRGoXbqM0zxg/edit?pref=2&pli=1#gid=0
At the time this was was published, Brittany Alleys and Ardoris HAD the largest number of AVAILABLE row lots because they hadn’t been taken. Further, in the towns listed: Etceter, Kingsport had a few Row Lots. Desolis had a hand full of Village Lots way in the back. Aerie had a City Lot and some Row Lots.
But, good news – the POT Style PRTs have an amazing amount of available lots – it’s kind of like no one wants to live there!
V/R Brickbat, Housing Ninja
Nice catch, thanks for noticing! This should be fixed as of this weekend. Sorry about the confusion!
Whoever is doing these updates is reading the community spreadsheet wrong. The “Total” on the spreadsheet is the remaining lots. “Lots Claimed” is the lots that have been claimed. Alleys and Andoris have the most lots remaining, not claimed.
All should be well now Thepal, thanks for noticing as well!