Avatar’s Update #282: Play Release 54 Now!

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

Game Development

News Announcements

Community Updates

Play Release 54 Now!

Release 54 successfully launched yesterday, May 31, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in to check out the changes! There’s lots of new content to explore, including:

  • Performance Improvements
  • Scene Rebuilds: Westend (town), Shaminian Hills, Upper Tears
  • Skeleton Plunderers
  • More Side Quests: Companion Gear, Soltown Sewers, Solania Catacombs
  • Combat Polish & New Weapons Audio
  • More Heraldry Items: Chest, Standing Banner, Gloves, Boots, Basement Hatch
  • More Adventure Scene Blessings
  • User Interface Polish: Containers in Containers, Containers in Mail
  • Companion AI Polish
  • New Recipes: Hot Tub, Bathtubs, Elven Lights, Crate, Barrel, Standing Banner
  • Increased Decoration Limits
  • New Homes & Basements: Shopfront Row Homes, Basement Inns, Basement Hatches
  • New Decorations: Globe Container, Large Telescope, Hourglasses, Perennial Coast Paintings
  • R52 Livestream Obsidian Order Items
  • R54 QA Testing Incentive Winners
  • R54 Lot Deed Raffle Winners

…and much more!

Check out the Release 54 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 this Release!

If you have not backed the game yet, go to www.shroudoftheavatar.com and click the “Play Now” button. Game Early Access is also available on Steam.

Release 54 Player Instructions

Release 54 Known Issues

Here are what some players are saying about the release so far:

Lord Andernut: I love those pirate skeletons!

Joe Zhudarak: SWEET!!! best update ever! 

Elrond: Amazing patch ..thanks for the bludgeon pass. 

Vladamir Begemot: Having been in QA for a bit, I can say that the new sounds are really a game changer, great job @Bread Vendor! Also, loving the updating of difficulties, we got our faces punched through a few times today. Not just in, but all the way through. So many great updates, I’m calling it, BRE. BRE.

Beaumaris: Congrats on another great release. A lot of fantastic new content in R54!

Elgarion: Wow, that was a LOT of updates — thank you, thank you Portalarium! I gotta say… with each monthly update, it’s almost like getting a new game! Keep up the great work :)

Dagmar: Wow… lots of stuff… =) Nice!

Helvig Ingvildsdottir: I’m so happy. This release contains several goodies that I’ve been waiting for! I’d say it’s easily one of the best releases ever. :)

Double XP for Week 1 & 2 of Release 54!

Thanks to the incredible support in reaching new stretch goals during last month’s R53 Livestream, we have doubled XP (including crafting) for Week 1 & 2 of R54! Double XP expires on June 15.

Release 54 Livestream – June 4

Another release livestream is upon us! The Release 54 Livestream is set for June 4, just a few days after Release 54 goes live on May 31 next week.

All Avatars from around the world are welcomed to join us in the livestream activities. We will be doing deep dives, answering questions, having sales, handing out prizes, and tracking towards stretch goals. In honor of spring time here in the north, this event’s stretch goals are entirely tropical themed!

LIVESTREAM SCHEDULE (Central Time Zone)

Monthly livestreams are on Twitch and include answers to your gameplay questions, world building tours, prize giveaways, sales on items, and more! Here is the schedule:

  • 3PM: Introductions and Q&A
  • 3:45PM: Deep Dive 1: PVP
  • 4:30PM: World Building Tour: New Scenes & Quests
  • 5:30PM: Deep Dive 2: Heraldry
  • 6:15PM: Q&A Continues
  • 7PM: Ending Announcements

NEW! STRETCH GOALS (Tropical Themed!)

As a special bonus, we are offering funding rewards to any player that makes a minimum purchase of $5 during a twelve hour window during the day of the livestream, on June 4 from 12:00 PM to 11:59 PM CDT (June 4 17:00 to June 5 05:00 UTC). Our theme for this livestream is Tropical in honor of the summer season starting!


Reference Image From:
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa

All purchases during the twelve hour window will count towards the stretch goals, not just the four hours of the livestream!

  • $10K: /rainbow
  • $20K: /wardance & /hula
  • $30K: Leaf Backpack
  • $40K: Palapa
  • $50K: Polynesian Dress with Tropical Flower Crown
  • $65K: Polynesian Axe & Spear
  • $80K: Large Tiki Heads with Flames
  • $90K: Polynesian Bow plus two other Weapons
  • $100K: Polynesian Daemon Themed Armor with Full Helm

*Please keep in mind that stretch goal rewards take time to develop and will most likely not be available until Release 56 at the earliest. We will keep you updated!

CHEER ON THE DEVS

StarrDancingFor every $2,500 contributed, all devs on camera have to dance, sing, or perform some other act of amazement.

NEW! 12 HOURS OF SALES:

Additionally, we will be having twelve hours of sales around the livestream from 12:00 PM to 11:59 PM CDT (June 4 17:00 to June 5 05:00 UTC)! All of the following items in the below categories will be on sale at approx. 20% off for the entire 12 hours. As noted above all purchases during the twelve hours will count towards the stretch goals!

WIN THESE GREAT PRIZES!

  • In-game items!
  • Bank Upgrades
  • COTOs
  • RelicsbyRild.com merchandise
  • and a bunch of items we will announce on the livestream!

We will be giving prizes away on an hourly basis with many being given away multiple times. If you wish to win prizes during the event, be in Discord chat! We will be active on Twitch and YouTube chats as well, but they will not be our portal for prize giveaways.

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS

We will be answering questions throughout the livestream, so submit them in the comments section of the original post or on Discord chat during the event.

Please do NOT post questions containing:

  • More than 3 questions in total (post all three in a single reply)
  • Bugs or other problems best posted in the bug forums
  • “When is this coming” or anything related to schedule (for those answers please refer to our quarterly updates or our post release plans)
  • Questions with more than a couple of sentences. Please keep them brief! We will likely understand the context of your interest, so just ask the question and we’ll be able to respond.

For bug reports and extra idea suggestions, please use the forums for this purpose.

A Final Thought: We see a LOT of repeat questions. Please consider reviewing one of the other missed question posts, previous monthly livestreams, livestream transcripts, and/or reading our Post Episode 1 plan post before posting a question. Your question might have already been answered.

Watch @ShroudofAvatar updates throughout the day of the livestream. See you on Twitch!

Release 54 Lot Deed Raffle Winners

The latest Lot Deed Raffle was drawn with deeds awarded to the following lucky winners!

There were two raffles, one for each lot type:

Place Anywhere Deeds: 50 Total

  • Row: 20
  • Village: 15
  • Town: 10
  • City: 5

Player Owned Town Deeds: 100 Total

  • Row: 40
  • Village: 30
  • Town: 20
  • City: 10

Raffle tickets grant the holder a chance to win deeds of any size (Row, Village, Town, or City). Raffles are held monthly (total deed numbers may vary each month). Winners can claim their deed(s) simply by logging into the game and claiming rewards at any bank.

Release 55 Lot Deed Raffle has begun! Details in the forums.

Release 54 Dance Party Today!

Another monthly release and another monthly dance party! Lux Sanctuary (a POT due East of Nightshade Pass) is hosting.

Our very own DJ Darkstarr will once again be spinning tunes with two sets for Avatars to groove to. The first set is at 2 PM CDT (19:00 UTC) and the second set is at 6 PM CDT (23:00 UTC).

NPC Submission Requests: Brittany Alleys

Earlier this week Scott “Lum” Jennings posted our latest request for NPC submissions for Brittany Alleys. This is for Developer+ level backers who are eligible for the “Design an NPC” reward “Help create and name a character in the game”.

For reference here is our current status on which towns we have done this work on and which towns remain to be done:

Done:

  • Aerie
  • Ardoris
  • Braemar (no backer NPCs)
  • Brittany Wharfs
  • Central Brittany
  • Desolis
  • Estgard
  • Etceter
  • Graff Island
  • Jaanaford
  • Kiln
  • Kingsport (no backer NPCs)
  • Northwood
  • Owl’s Head (no backer NPCs)
  • Resolute
  • Solania (no backer NPCs)
  • Soltown (no backer NPCs)
  • Spite
  • Xenos
  • Yew

In progress:

  • Brittany Alleys

To be done:

  • Bramble
  • Brittany Fields
  • Broochash
  • Brookside
  • Celestis
  • Eastmarch
  • Elad’s Lighthouse
  • Fortus End
  • Goti
  • Mud
  • Noreach
  • Point West
  • Port Graff
  • Storm’s Reach
  • Westend

Humility[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Scott “Lum” Jennings]

Thank you for your continuing support of Shroud of the Avatar! This month, we move from the jewel of the realm to its seamy underbelly – the district known as Brittany Alleys. The dark streets of the Alleys are full of mysteries and stories, perhaps one of which is yours…

Because of Brittany Alleys’ size, this will be the only area we are adding backer NPCs to for this release. If you do NOT want your backer NPC to be in Brittany Alleys for whatever reason, or if you absolutely have a character who should be in a given city not named Brittany, you should wait until we advertise for that city. We do plan on eventually populating every city in the game with unique NPCs!

First, some brief notes:

  • Brittany Alleys has many NPCs which are not currently unique. Thus, the NPCs are already in the game, but we can change appearance (to a degree, as seen below), gender, etc. to suit your request. If you want to pick a specific NPC (for example, one near your own house) we will do our best to accommodate you but may not be able to.
  • NPC visual customization, as you may have noticed, is still at a very early stage in development. Right now for the backers who want to be added to Brittany Alleys, we cannot offer any visual customization options beyond our standard gallery of NPC models. (Do note, however, that we frequently add to that gallery – the pool has doubled over the past 6 months, for example.) If you would like to have input over the visual customization of your NPC, you can wait for further releases when we can offer this. We will also allow a one-time visual re-customization once customization has been added if you would like to add your NPC now.
  • There are MANY NPCs within Brittany Alleys’ walls. Although we will be accepting submissions on a first come first serve basis, if you are a Developer+-tier backer (as in, you can see this post), you are welcome to submit an NPC of your own design, but people who have not yet submitted an NPC will take priority over those who have. If your NPC doesn’t appear in Brittany Alleys, feel free to respond again in future posts. We still have quite a few towns and cities to populate!
  • When responding, please list a first and second choice for profession.
  • Due to the great number of NPCs to populate this release, the amount of custom dialog we can add will by necessity be limited. If you would like specific custom dialog added for your NPC, it would help us GREATLY if you could submit in the form of [keyword that triggers a response] [the response desired] so that we have a better idea of how you would like that NPC implemented. We reserve the right to edit or change any dialog submitted, or not use it if we feel it inappropriate for the NPC or the game in general.
  • Things that will cause Lum to send you a regretful message saying we can’t use your NPC’s background: if your NPC has a backstory that contradicts the lore of the game (“my grandfather helped Aren Bennis win the Obsidian Wars”), thinly-disguised advertisements for your player-owned town or guild, references to races or major events that do not appear in-game (“my mother was an orc”), or a name that is an obvious reference to a real person, popular fictional character, or historical figure.
  • This is currently for the district of Brittany Alleys ONLY.
  • NPCs for Brittany Alleys should be primarily human, but we will consider submissions of elven migrants.

Still with us? Great! Here’s what we need for Brittany Alleys:

  • 40 guards
  • 89 citizens/travellers
  • 24 children/orphans
  • 1 guild registrar
  • 2 bankers
  • 3 town criers
  • 2 public vendors
  • 2 combat trainers
  • 1 crafting trainer
  • 1 alchemist
  • 1 blacksmith
  • 1 weapons salesperson
  • 1 butcher
  • 2 cooking supplies salespersons
  • 1 housing deco salesperson
  • 1 housing deeds salesperson
  • 3 fisherfolk
  • 2 farming supplies salespersons
  • 1 baker
  • 2 innkeepers
  • 1 tavernkeeper
  • 2 waiters/waitresses

If you’d like to have your namesake be a resident of central Brittany, please respond via private message on this forum to me (Lum) using the following format:

  • NPC name:
  • NPC gender:
  • NPC profession (first choice):
  • NPC profession (second choice):
  • District NPC appears (optional):
  • NPC background (optional): A paragraph on whom your NPC is, how they would respond to nosy outlanders poking about their business, what brings them to Brittany Alleys (or keeps them there), or anything else you’d like to add. We may or may not use this background, and reserve the right to edit and/or reject any background that does not fit the lore and setting of the game.

Please specify in your submission that this NPC is for Brittany Alleys.

We will respond if: your NPC is used; if it is rejected for whatever reason (such as an inappropriate name); if a supplied background is inappropriate, or if your NPC missed the cutoff for this release.

Thanks for your support, and keep a tight hold of your coinpurse when in the Alleys!

Portalarium is Hiring: Web Developer

We currently have an opening for a Web Developer for Shroud of the Avatar. Qualifications for the ideal candidate are:

  • Minimum 5 years industry experience
  • *nix experience (OpenBSD or Linux)
  • CSS
  • Web development experience (PHP, web services, JavaScript)
  • Relational database architecture experience (MySql preferred)
  • Server deployment and cluster orchestration (virtual and/or dedicated machines)
  • Server load balancing, traffic prioritization, etc.
  • Extensive experience with server security
  • Strong debugging skills
  • Ability to work in unstructured, non-hierarchical environment
  • BONUS SKILLS (any one or more of these):
    • NoSQL experience
    • Strong C#/C++ skills
    • Windows programming experience
    • ASP.NET
    • Mac development
    • MMO game development experience
    • Minimum of at least 1 shipped game

If you’d like to join the Portalarium Tribe working on the ground-breaking Shroud of the Avatar game, please submit your resume to jobs@portalarium.com. Provide links to your work (if possible), including gameplay, video footage, and document forms (images, maps, and event descriptions).

Weekend Flash Sale: Obsidians

The Release 52 Livestream theme was Obsidians and we created a whole host of Obsidian Order items that went live in Release 54. To celebrate we are putting all Obsidian items on sale this weekend!

Visit the Main Store to view more items! Also, you’ll want to explore the game in detail for many more craftable items available!

Upcoming Events Calendar

June 1, 2018 – R54 Dance Party: Lux Sanctuary
June 4, 2018 –R54 Livestream: Tropical Themed
June 28, 2018 – Release 55
July 6, 2018 – R55 Livestream: Lord British’s Birthday!
July 26, 2018 – Release 56
Aug 10 – 11, 2018 –Syndcon
Aug 21 – 25, 2018 – Gamescom
Aug 30, 2018 – Release 57
Aug 30 – Sept 3 –Dragon Con
Sept 27, 2018 – Release 58
Oct 11-13, 2018 – SOTACON Austin 2018
Oct 25, 2018 – Release 59
Nov 15, 2018 – Release 60
Dec 13, 2018 – Release 61

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.

Livestream: The Companions Revisited

We kicked off the livestream with Fletcher Kinnear and Brandon Cotton to show off the companion gear that will be made available to players via questing for it, and then Erik Touve and Brandon Cotton took a dive into the Companion abilities! And last but not least, we showed off some really cool new property decorations.

For more livestreams and gameplay videos, be sure to subscribe to www.youtube.com/portalarium!

R54 Welcome Quest – Lux Sanctuary – Saturday, June 2 at 12pm CT

You are invited to join the Welcome Quest in Release 54.

It will be held on Saturday, June 2, 2018 starting at 12pm (noon) central time/New Britannian time and lasting an hour. It is added on the Avatar’s Circle community calendar for easy time zone conversion at http://avatarscircle.com/community-events/ Plus it is in your in-game Events book.

Greagoir Pendragon will be active 30 minutes before the event and during the event.

We are traveling to the town of Lux Sanctuary. Located just west of Brittany along the mountains.

Are you with us?

Details in the forums!

AERIE Fund – Community Cause – Primal Nature – June 2018

Join AERIE Fund as we support Conservation International in their mission to build a healthier, more prosperous and more productive planet. For more than 30 years, Conservation International (CI) has been protecting nature for the benefit of all.

1. Pledge Your Support – offer financial support while earning fun digital and physical thank you gifts (no gifting option available).

2. Host and Attend In-Game Community Events – the only thing more fun than playing for a cause, is playing for a cause with your friends, guildies, and gaming groups. Sign up for a fundraiser/awareness event and we’ll help you promote it!

3. Stream for a Cause! – Streamers help promote our event on your streams. Download the Streamer’s Resource Package (includes banners, graphics, links and buttons)!

Details in the forums!

Win a Pair of SOTACON 2018 Tickets!

SOTACON Austin 2018 is giving away a pair of tickets and t-shirts to SOTACON Austin 2018!

Enter daily to win! To enter, get the Meretz App:
https://www.meretz.com/promo/sotaconaustin

Or watch Lunch with Laz & Jack Daily for additional entries, as well a chance to win a weekly prize of a Custom SOTACON t-shirt!

Project to Support – MidBoss

Emma Massen created the ABC music framework that we now use in Shroud of the Avatar for player instruments. Thank you Emma! We noticed your project on Steam and wanted to give it a shout out.

Avatars, MidBoss is easy to pick up and play if you’re new to the genre of traditional roguelikes (turn-based strategic RPGs with permadeath), but still has the depth and complexity that veterans expect and enjoy. Give it a try!

Resources – Players Helping Players

SotA_NewPlayerWelcome_Forum

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.