Update of the Avatar #192 – 2016.09.02: Free Lot Deed Raffle, R33 Postmortem, Estgard Polish, Fireplaces, Elven Bundles, Lord British at Dragon Con

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• Free Lot Deed Raffle Tickets in R34
• Release 33 Postmortem
• Estgard Polish
• Fireplaces and Chimneys
• Swamp Island POT Templates Update
• Elven Bundle Store and Add-On Goodies
• Upcoming Events
• Richard Garriott at Dragon Con
• Community Resources – Players Helping Players
• Job Openings (4)
• Recommended Projects to Back

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Free Lot Deed Raffle Tickets in Release 34 Raffle

As mentioned in the Release 33 instructions we have begun the distribution of in-game Lot Deeds via Raffles. The raffles will be monthly and for this first month’s raffle we will be handing out 75 Place Anywhere Deeds and 600 Player Owned Town Deeds. Raffle Tickets can be purchased from Home Decoration merchants in various locations throughout the game.

For those backers who do not yet own property we are going to automatically enter you into both Raffles in Release
34! Anyone who has game access to Shroud of the Avatar, but does NOT yet own property at the beginning of Release 34 (September 29, 2016), will automatically be given a gift of 1 Raffle Ticket of each type to the First Raffle. To claim your tickets simply login to the game, go to the nearest bank and claim your rewards. The drawings will be held on October 27, 2016 and winners will be announced shortly thereafter. Deeds will be delivered in Release 35.

Backers are not eligible for this gift if they meet the following criteria on September 29, 2016:

• Own an Ancestor Pledge or above
• Own a Viking 2-Story Row Bundle or above
• Own a Kobold 2-Story Row Bundle or above
• Own any quantity of Add On Store Deeds
• Own any deeds won through previous drawings, contests, etc.

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Release 33 Postmortem

Join us Friday, September 9th at 3:00 PM Central (20:00 UTC) for our monthly Hangout of the Avatar! The team will be chatting about Release 33 and looking ahead to Release 34.

As always, we will be giving out rare Lord British artifacts of immense power and glory, and answering your latest questions. For a chance to win an artifact, be in Discord chat during the livestream. There will be multiple chances to win throughout the broadcast!

Watch live on Twitch at www.twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar:

Watch live video from shroudoftheavatar on www.twitch.tvYou will also be able to watch directly on YouTube: www.youtube.com/portalarium! The final recording will be archived on YouTube after the event as well.

If you wish to win prizes, be in Discord or IRC chat during the livestream! Post your questions in the comments section of the post here. Only one post submission allowed, and keep questions to 3 or less. This will allow us to get to as many players as possible.

Questions and feedback related to this release’s specific topics 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.

Tweet with us @ShroudofAvatar during the Hangout!

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Estgard Polish

Estgard is on the island of Norgard and is part of the Path of Courage. It is a cloned scene using one of our PRT / POT templates based off of the Forest 01 base template (aka PaxLair). In Release 33 we did an initial rebuild (aka “un-cloning”) of that scene where we added a plot specific perimeter wall and a handful of other visual changes to have it more closely match the Viking like style of the island of Norgard. In Release 34 we are polishing that rebuild to bring it up to our visual standards. When we start focusing on the Courage Path in a future release it will also get an NPC polish pass.

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.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldivar]

REVISITING ESTGARD

Hey guys, for R34 I have been tasked with polishing up the town of Estgard. Estgard is located in Norgard across the Naryad Channel from the town of Harvest.

Dockside city entrance into Estgard: This area of Norgard is heavily forested so much that moss and vines line the outer walls of Estgard.

Falls of Strymon: Located to the West of Estgard these majestic falls are located on a tributary of the Oso River which eventually makes its way into the Naryad Channel. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water flow over the 100 foot high cliffs every second. You can see the tiny avatar dwarfed in the lower left hand corner. Truly a must see on your next visit to Estgard.

Forest: An abundance of rain water gives this area of Norgard a dense forest feel.

Cenotes: To the East several Cenotes dot the landscape. Essentially large sinkholes created when subterranean bodies of water cave in and collapse. 

Hermit Hut: A hermit hut just North of Estgard.

Logging Camps: Logging camps are scattered throughout this heavily forested region.

Stay tuned for more progress on Estgard!

Esteben Zaldivar
Level Designer

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Fireplaces and Chimneys

For a long time now players have requested fireplaces and chimneys as decorations for their homes. In Release 34 they will finally have their dreams realized with two craftable versions in-game as well as several versions for the Add-On Store.

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

Hello good folks!

Following the suggestions by those who, like me, take their nesting instincts very seriously when it comes to home decoration, I present the work-in progress for my task of place-able fireplaces and chimneys! The goal here was for me to create a system by which our homeowners could hope to assemble a decent fireplace, from ground-floor hearth to roof, with a limited set of pieces using our deco system. Here you can see the almost-complete initial variation sets built in Max prior to export into Unity!

To make this work, it was important that I take into account the fact that deco-system items can only collide with other items in very specific circumstances, while I also wanted to be able to let the final chimney piece intersect the roof so it could be seen from the outside. To add to this (in cases where the player has access to the roof), while the roof chimney extension can intersect with the roof and interior floors fairly freely, I also wanted to make sure that a player couldn’t simple “walk through” it as if it were a hologram… Since all our player homes have been built with a variety of floor to ceiling sizes and configurations, this was no easy task!

Once imported, I was able to add all the effects and lay them out for review. Above you’ll notice the sets being filled out as I expand each variation type. For this first group there will be two variations you can craft yourself (a rustic-looking stone hearth, as well as a stone and wood version) as well as their attendant chimney set pieces…

These simpler ones were then followed by three “ornate” variations you’ll be able to buy in our add-on store (two of which you can see toward the back), which will be “Ornate Stone” (small and large, in a somewhat baroque visual style that will match many of Bob’s up-scale manor houses he’s made), “Ornate Stone and Wood” (small and large, made to match the Norgard visual style of some of the Lord Marshall items I’ve made), and finally an “Ornate Metal” version (small and large, mimicking the style of the cast-iron radiator decoration I’ve made), which I haven’t finished creating yet… Below you can see the initial two “Ornate” ones a bit more closely, which include their basic “flat” primary chimney pieces on top…Each set will, in most average cases, allow the owner to create one fireplace type from the first floor of any home and extend it up on each floor and finally through the ceiling! To make sure this idea worked, I took my initial group (the rustic craft-able all-stone hearth) and got Rick to help me set them up to function in our deco system. I then went through each and every player home type, testing all the pieces to make sure that I could build at least two full fireplaces in each home in key locations where most folks would consider placing them. In the image below you can see the two different placement versions; the one on the left tests the look of the base hearth with its angular chimney topper meant to indicate that it passes through the wall to the outside, where the chimney pieces can stack past the roof,…and the one on the right tests the look of a the same set rising up toward the ceiling to indicate an interior chimney arrangement. You’ll notice that the use of these limited pieces, due to small variances in each building’s design, can’t always be perfect (such as the chimney addition on the right, in this particular home, not completely reaching the ceiling in this particular house design), but I did measure each of our limited number of pieces to fit fairly well together in most circumstance, with just a little “mix and match” effort. ^_^

Another thing you’ll notice is that, like our bookshelves and tables and such, there are flat areas, mantles, and shelves on most of these pieces that will allow you to place favorite small decorations on your fireplaces. I particularly enjoyed loading mine up with all kinds of fun stuff! In the image below you can see a floor extension I placed on the second floor of this house to make it look like a fireplace is extending through the interior, and it too is equipped with a small shelf upon which I’ve placed a ceramic jar.

On the exterior of the house you can see further building I’ve done placing chimney pieces from the ground to the roof! By simply stacking them one upon the other, it was fairly easy to get just the look I wanted. On top you can see my second interior chimney set poking up above the other, and a quick run up the stairs to the roof will let you see the intersecting roof extension as well as the taller floor extension placed on the roof to simulate the second chimney piercing through…With other less “conventional” house configurations, the set seemed to work well too! Here you can see merely two pieces of the set (the main hearth and the roof extension) used in our Elven Village Hill Home, seen from the inside as well as seen from the outside, so you can appreciate the way it nicely intersects with the roof!

The fun part, honestly, is playing with all the pieces in several different house and room configurations to find the assembly that works best in any given circumstance… Trial and error is the name of the game with these sets, since (as with all deco items) they won’t always work in every single situation, but I’m betting you’ll be surprised by their versatility! Once all of these are finished and ready for you to have, I’m really hoping you’ll all have a great time playing with these props.

Take care!

Scottie ^_^

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Swamp Island POT Templates Update

As mentioned in our last Update (191) the Swamp Islands are the newest templates for the Player Owned Towns. These new templates are lowland islands covered in swampy terrain. We offer two versions, a normal version and one that has an Obsidian Style spiked wall surrounding the large island. While this is based on the original Island template, the terrain has been lowered to better represent a swampy area. This also has the nice byproduct of creating much more flat space for building placement! In fact, this template is only rivaled by the Grassland templates and Inland Forest (a modified Grassland) in available space for building.

We have finally gotten them added to the POT Submission form (accessible from your Account page) and you can view images and overhead shots of them from the POT Templates page. Here are the overhead shots of the islands (the second view is the walled version).

Here are some more shots of the non-walled version (we showed only shots of the walled version last week):

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Elven Bundle Store and Add-On Goodies

Elven Bundle Store

We are excited to launch our latest Bundle Store addition with the Elven Bundles! While the Elves of Novia were originally created for war by the Obsidian Order, in the centuries since many have sought to find new meaning in their lives, and have found it through finding a place of their own in nature’s order, harmonious with the land around them. These bundles reflect this with homes and furniture built from natural materials.

(NOTE: The first five Elven Bundles are available now in the Bundle Store! Stay tuned for the remaining bundles in time for Release 34)

Elaborate Tiara

Be the talk of the ball when you show up wearing this beautifully styled Elaborate Tiara! Available now in the Add-On Store!

Black & Chrome Ornate Aeronaut Outfit

You can’t stand in your Hot Air Balloon, or your Airship, without the appropriate gear! This ornately carved, black & chrome leather Aeronaut outfit provides both comfort and style!   Available now in the Add-On Store!

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Upcoming Events

2016.09.02 – Richard “Lord British” Garriott at DragonCon 2016
2016.09.09 – Release 33 Post-Mortem Hangout
2016.09.21 – Austin Games Conference
2016.09.29 – Release 34
2016.10.27 – Release 35
2016.11.04 – SotACon
2016.11.17 – Release 36
2016.12.15 – Release 37

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 this month’s Release Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events.

Event of the Week – Boat Emote Happy Hour

The Boat Emote Event where you bring your emotes and trade with others on a boat of course. While this will be mostly a dance themed event it is also meant as a community meet and greet for those around the world now that persistence is here. We encourage folks to look at SotAWiki.net and find emotes and bring them to trade. Random store credits to be given away to participants. At least 15 bucks worth more depending on turnout.

Richard “Lord British” Garriott at Dragon Con!

Richard Garriott will be attending Dragon Con from Friday to Sunday this coming September 2-4, 2016! He will be available at certain times for autographs, as well as on a number of exciting panels you won’t want to miss.

Some of the events and panels Richard will be on:

• Commercial Space Is Busting Out Everywhere!
• Shroud of the Avatar – Q&A
• Craft Your Own Automation
• Stuff Podcast – LIVE!
• New Britannia Round Table
• Celebrity Gaming with Pathfinder!
• A Hour With Lord British
• Mars in 10 Years! Can Elon Get It Done?

Get Richard’s complete schedule here!

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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.

Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community.

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Job Openings (4)

World Builder/Level Designers  (2)

We currently have an opening for 2 junior-level to senior-level World Builder/Level Designers with artistic skills for Shroud of the Avatar to build out scenes (these positions are less focused on game play elements). Qualifications for “ideal candidates” are:

• Minimum 2 years industry experience for junior-level (preferably on a shipped game)
• Minimum 5 years industry experience for senior-level (minimum of at least 1 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
• BONUS: Ability to model and texture in 3D art tools

Quality Assurance

We currently have an opening for an entry-level Quality Assurance agent for Shroud of the Avatar. Qualifications for the “ideal candidate” are:

• Avid game player
• Experience with RPGs and MMOs
• Willingness to also do Customer Service tasks as needed
• Desire to expand into other areas of game development long term
• BONUS: Experience with Quality Assurance

Programmer

We currently have an opening for a Programmer for Shroud of the Avatar. Qualifications for the “ideal candidate” are:

• Minimum 2 years industry experience
• Strong C#/C++ skills
• Database development experience
• Awesome debugging skills
• Windows programming experience
• Network programming experience
• Extensive Multi-threaded programming experience
• Ability to work in unstructured, non-hierarchical environment
• Strong software architecture skills
• BONUS SKILLS (any one or more of these):
  • Minimum 5 years industry experience (minimum of at least 1 shipped game)
  • Unity development experience
  • Mac development
  • Avid game player
  • Web development experience (C#, PHP, ASP.NET, XML/web services, JavaScript)
  • UNIX experience
  • MMO game development experience

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).

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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.

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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.

A reminder to be sure that support@portalarium.com is unblocked from your e-mail account!