Avatar’s Update #298: Final Friday for R57 Stretch Goals, R58 on QA, & Player Books Livestream

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

Fishing Phase 2 Updates: Lava Fishing Rod

Fishing Phase 2 is going to include some amazing expansions to the fishing system and we outlined these during the Release 57 livestream. The wildest expansion we mentioned was the addition of Lava as a water type you can fish in! This week we are unveiling the first Lava fishing rod made by our very own Scott “Scottie” Jones! Lava fishing was invented by Kobolds to catch the rare flaming fish, lava eels and other hot trophies. Lava fishing rods are made out of materials that won’t melt in lava like high grade tempered steel, carbon, and diamond.

Here’s a list of some of what Fishing Phase 2 includes and will be appearing over the course of Q4 this year:

  • 4 Different Water Types: Fresh, Salt, Fetid (Swamp, Dungeon, Sewer), and LAVA!!!!
  • More Fish: New fish types to go with the new water types including more rare and fantastical fish (rainbow trout that have actual rainbow coloring).
  • More Loot: We will add more random loot to fishing.
  • Different Bait and Lure Types: Different lures/baits work better/worse with different water types and for catching different fish. Gems are the only lure that works in Lava.
  • Bait as Active Skill: To use all the different bait types this will now become an active skill, much like seeds are the active skill in Agriculture
  • Trophy Data: You will now have a chance to catch a “trophy fish” that will have extra data on it including information like Weight, Who Caught, When Caught, etc.
  • More Recipes: More recipes using the new fish introduced as well as new recipes using original fish.
  • Group and Social Bonuses: Randomly selected Player Owned Towns with water will get a short fishing bonus. We will also be introducing an experience bonus for fishing while grouped.

2018 Rare Spooky Items

Earlier this month we brought back the recurring Spooky items and in Release 58 we are adding three Rare items that will only be available until November 30, 2018: Jack O Lanterns and Jack O Lantern Masks made by our very own Reid Rollo. Tune into our Release 58 Livestream on October 4 for the Seasonal Content Deep Dive (post next week) where we will talk about an upcoming seasonal creature linked to Jack O Lanterns!

2018 Jack O Lantern Set2018 Jack O Lantern Mask Lit2018 Jack O Lantern Mask

Release 58 on QA Server

An early version of R58 is on the QA server. R58 is full of new content most of which is now on the QA server for early testing. We could really use everyone’s help to test all of this amazing content before it goes live!

Testing on QA makes you eligible for Testing Incentive Rewards including gold crowns, the Ant Farm, Antennae, Bug Cloak and Paintings.


Player Made Books Livestream (take 2!)

Last week we were unable to do our weekly livestream due to an internet outage but we will be back this week for another content packed weekly Community Livestream this Friday September 21 at 4 PM CDT on Twitch!

This week we are going to talk about Player Made Books! Joaquin “Wizardsmoke” Del Canto and Scott “Scottie” Jones will be showing you how to make and publish a player made book as well as how to make copies of it using the Printing Press. We will also show off other player customized writing items and uses for them like notes with mail, Bulletin Boards with Flyers, and more!

Remember every Friday of the release all purchases from noon to midnight count towards the Release 57 Stretch Goals which are dungeon themed in honor of the upcoming Player Made Dungeon feature which is previewing in Release 57 and going live in Q4! We have already hit four of them but this is the last Friday to hit any more! See below for more details.

As usual we will be giving out prizes at 4:15 and 4:45! To be eligible all you need to do is either make any purchase in the store or log into the game and type “Roll the dice” in the chat window (no purchase necessary).

Watch on Twitch today (Friday) at 4 PM CDT!

Release 57 Livestream: Last Friday for Stretch Goals

The Release 57 Livestream was on Friday September 7 and was amazing! We had deep dives about Fishing (which is expanding in upcoming releases) and Player Made Dungeons which are previewing in Release 57 and will go live as soon as Q4! We answered questions, had twelve hours of sales, and handed out tons of prizes! It was also the first appearance of Sharkstarr and Winfield of Paxlair joined us for the fishing livestream.

Remember every Friday of the release all purchases from noon to midnight count towards the Release 57 Stretch Goals which are dungeon themed in honor of the upcoming Player Made Dungeon feature which is previewing in Release 57 and going live in Q4! We have already hit four of them, and last week we were only $1000 short of hitting a fifth one (total at midnight was $64K)! However this is the last Friday to hit any more of them!

  • ACHIEVED $10K: /rolldice
  • ACHIEVED $25K: Flame Trap Decorations (non-harmful)
  • ACHIEVED $35K: Candle Helm
  • ACHIEVED $50K: Spike Trap & Arrow Trap Decorations (non-harmful)
  • $65K: Unique Dungeon Entrance Eternal Pattern
  • $80K: Torture Set: Torture Chair, Torture Table, Rack
  • $90K: Key Themed Weapon Set: Sword, Mace, Polearm
  • $100K: Unique Dungeon Room Blueprint

If you missed the livestream it is now available on YouTube! You can watch it on our channel, along with many of our past livestreams.

Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program

The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Gold Crowns, AND receive rare stretch-goal items from our monthly livestreams! This program automatically enrolls you in the monthly livestreams (counts as the $5 minimum purchase) along with other perks.

For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:

  • 9 Gold Crowns of the Obsidians every month
  • Automatic Participation in the Monthly Livestream Stretchgoals (counts as the $5 minimum purchase)
  • Exclusive Title every 3 months
    • 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith
    • 6 Months: Keeper of the Word
    • 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow
    • 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame
  • Pick any Dye Pack every 6 months
  • Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including:
    • Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity
    • Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance
    • Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills
    • Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills
    • Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage
    • Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills

Weekend Flash Sale: Dyes

In Release 57 we introduced Decorations Dyeing that allows you to dye some decorations including the craftable banners, heraldry banners, FineWhite & Gold Furniture, and Fine Red Furniture. To celebrate we are putting all dyes on sale this weekend! Stay tuned for Release 58 where even more cloth decorations will be dyeable!

Follow the links to learn more about each item. Also, you’ll want to explore the game in detail for there are many more craftable items available!

Upcoming Events Calendar

Sept 21, 2018 – Weekly Livestream: Player Made Books
Sept 27, 2018 – Release 58
Oct 4 (Thur), 2018 – Release 58 Livestream
Oct 11-13, 2018 – SOTACON Austin 2018
Oct 25, 2018 – Release 59
Nov 2, 2018 – Release 59 Livestream
Nov 15, 2018 – Release 60
Nov 30 or Dec 7, 2018 – Release 60 Livestream
Dec 13, 2018 – Release 61
Dec 21 or Jan 4, 2018 – Release 61 Livestream

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.

Community Event: Grand Opening of Ambrosia night club

[Forum post by Duke William of Serenite]

Ladies and gentlemen, House Serenite is having a dance party and would like to invite all avatars to come help us open “Ambrosia” an outdoor party area at Serenite Castle! There will be drinks and prizes!

The first 20 avatars to enter the zone and yell, “I LOVE AVATARS RADIO!” will receive 5 cotos from me.

Sister Love aka Fionwyn Wyldemane will be entertaining guests on Avatars Radio.

Serenite is a player owned town in Grunvald near the Sequanna Colossus along the coast. Serenite Castle is located on the big hill in the back of town as you enter the docks. Add William Serenite to friends.

Bring your dancing shoes because DJ Fionwyn is on fire!

Tune in on avatarsradio.info or your in-game aether devices.
Saturday 9/22 6pm-8pm NBT


Community Event: 4B – Where is Riya? – forum event

[Forum post by Sindariya]


4B is back
At least a little bit. We still try catch up what we missed in the last months, so we start small with a little forum event called:Where is Riya?Yes, where am I? I’m hiding in a maze and your quest is to find me. I’m not lost there. A little bit down you find 4 mazes and I’m in one. To win you have to write me a pm and tell me in which maze and how I’m hiding in the maze.
You have to either tell me how you solved the riddle or tell me who got lost .. aehmm is hiding in the other mazes.
You have till end of R57.

Prizes:
1. crafted player made dungeon + 10k gold
2. vase with flowers + 5k gold
3. vase with flowers + 2,5k gold
4. – 20. vase with flowers
special dev prize: sweets for Christmas from Germany​

maze 1

maze 2
maze 3

maze 4

Community Event: Novia Market R57 Grandmastery Bundles

[Forum post by ldykllr]

NoMa Grandmastery Bundles (R57)

Every month we are offering four professional-grade bundles based on an Avatar’s roles in Novia:

  1. Adventurer’s Bundle – some of the highest grade gear available in the land, ready to take a novice adventurer to the journeyman level! This month we are featuring armor from Robyn Hood (@ldykllr)
  2. Crafter’s Bundle – Are you an aspiring Blacksmith? The Blacksmith’s Starter Kit comes complete with all the items you will need to get started!
  3. Taming Bundle – Have you thought about being a tamer? Since taming is getting some love (and tameable Wyvern’s coming R58), this bundle will help you get started!
  4. Consumeable Bundle – Have you heard the news? We can now start dying some furniture! Canvas furniture was first this release, so this bundle will give you all the craftable dyes and a set of furniture/banners to get you started!

These bundles will be raffled on September 28th (the day after R58 release). Tickets are on sale now and priced especially for beginners at 500gp each bundle. No matter how many tickets a character purchases, they will only get a single chance at winning that bundle – so purchase only one ticket per bundle!

We are hosting the ticket vendors and a display table of what each bundle entails at Market Square, at the south end of NoMa (if you check in with the town crier, it is the only City lot in town and under Governor Robyn Hood’s name). As you wander past all of our merchants, please do some window shopping and take a look at what all of our residents have to offer! The team putting together the inaugural Bundles are the same team who do our Weekend Promos, so please patronize our promos as well! [1], [2]

(Screenshots below to help you find your way).

Cheers,

Ben & Robyn

[1] https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f…ta-stone-to-aid-international-players.127516/

[2] https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f…ovia-market-this-weekend.120594/#post-1008462

Screenshots

Location of the Market Square in Novia MarketR57 Raffle Tickets

Meretz: Win a Gothic Village Inn

Win a Gothic Village Inn & earn free SotA in-game items daily!

Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs).
The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy!
Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries, Relics by Rild giveaways, and tons more.

With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month.
This month, we’re giving away a Gothic Village Inn – valued at $100!
You can also enter to win a Relics By Rild $50 Gift Card, SOTACON Austin 2018 tickets, and other cool prizes.
AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes.

What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY!

Meretz: 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 –  SotA: New Beginnings Comic No. 2

Relics by Rild is producing Issue #2 of the official Shroud of the Avatar comic. Kickstarter is being used to fund printing & help pay the artist & writer.

SotA: New Beginnings is a graphic adventure set in New Britannia, the world of Lord British’s revolutionary new game, Shroud of the Avatar™. It tells the story of Arianna and Christopher, a young couple who have fled their own cruel world through a magic portal. Separated on their arrival, we follow their journey as they attempt to make sense of this new world and find each other once more.

This issue is again illustrated by Indi Martin(Tortoise & Hare Creations), and written in collaboration with Rick Hart aka Elgarion. It will be produced and distributed by Relics by Rild, under official license by Portalarium, Inc. This issue has 32 pages of adventure! (prior to backer-generated content).

Our goal is very simple – to bring you this beautiful new issue of New Beginnings, and to continue producing issues going forward.

As the publisher of this comic, my aim is to create a viable model to keep releasing issues. Countless hours have been put in by Indi and Rick, and I want to pay them to keep telling the story. To further this end, we sold ad space in Issue #1. A special thank-you to all our previous patrons!

The thing is, we want to use this space for more than just ads, and we want it to be relevant. So we’re calling it Content Space, and inviting the entire SotA community to make an impact in this print analog to the game. In the spirit of CrowdSharing, we want to allow our backers to enhance and develop the space just as they have done online in New Britannia.

Join the Kickstarter now!

Project to Support: King’s Dinner at SOTACON

[Forum Post by Winfield]

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Announcing a Spectacular Event to
Dine with Lord British and Darkstarr
King’s Dinner 2018 Web Page

October 12, 2018 at 5-8 PM CDT
Tickets on sale through October 8, 2018

Purchase Cloaks, Tickets, and Sponsorships Here

Anyone may attend!
Anyone may buy exclusive cloaks or be a sponsor!

Developers, past developers, family,
players, new players, and guests are all welcome!

Friends of Ultima, Ultima Online, Shroud of the Avatar and more!

Come dine with us!​

This event is in conjunction with SOTACON – Austin 2018
SOTACON tickets are not required to attend this dinner.
See SOTACON Schedule

This dinner is not included in the SOTACON – Austin 2018 Ticket
except for SOTACON VIPs

Buy your tickets early before the seats fill up!​

KING’S DINNER 2018 AUSTIN
Featuring
Richard Garriott “Lord British” and Starr Long “Darkstarr”
at a medieval-themed all-you-can-eat BBQ dinner

Special Guests
David Watson “Iolo”
Scottie Jones “Lord Nimrond Ionescu”
Stephen Daniele

King’s Dinner Web Page
Guest List | Sponsor List

County Line on the Lake Restaurant
5204 FM 2222, Austin, Texas

Can’t attend? See Sponsorship ideas farther down

Purchase Cloaks, Tickets, and Sponsorships Here

All Attendees and Sponsors get Exclusive Coins and Cloaks
Cloaks also sold separately!

SPONSORSHIP IDEAS FOR YOU
All funds help reduce dinner ticket prices & add SWAG, gifts, and entertainment​

YOU DON’T NEED TO ATTEND THE EVENT TO BE A SPONSOR!​

CAN’T ATTEND THE DINNER AND STILL WANT THE COIN?

Sponsor at the Baron level to get your name in the Program, we mail the Coin to you anywhere in the world, and deliver the Cloak in game. Your contribution goes to shipping costs and supporting the event.​

WANT TO BE RECOGNIZED AS A SPONSOR AT THE DINNER?

Sponsor at the Baron level for your Dinner ticket, Coin, Cloak, plus your name, guild, player town, or company in the Program (Guest List and Sponsor List). Increase your level of Sponsorship and get more!​

 

ADVERTISE YOUR GUILD, PLAYER TOWN, OR COMPANY!

Sponsor at the Viscount level to get your name, promotional paragraph, and web link in the Program (Guest List and Sponsor List). Also get Dinner, Coin and Cloak. You don’t have to physically attend to Sponsor.​

 

SPONSOR AT HIGHER LEVELS FOR MORE RECOGNITION, MEMENTOS, AND THANKS!

SPECIAL NOTICE: After Dinner on October 12, many of us (including Lord British) will drive 8 minutes to Richard Garriott’s Curtain Theater to see the Baron’s Men Theatrical Production of Shakespearean “Henry IV Part 1”. Ticket box office opens at 7:00 PM, Theater opens at 7:30 PM, Play starts at 8:00 PM. Get tickets ahead of time or at the box office there. Continue a Grand Evening with us!


Scene from “Dead of Winter” (October 13, 2017)
Featuring our friend Scottie Jones (audience left in the chair)


Project to Support: AERIE Fund – Cult of Bob – Direct Relief Fundraiser

[Forum Post by Thexedor Markhamm]

Cult of Bob – Direct Relief Fundraiser​

Hail Avatars!

As many of you know, the AERIE Fund provides members of our community relief for catastrophic medical, financial, and natural disaster events. Thanks to your support we’ve raised funds for emergency chemotherapy, Hurricane Harvey disaster relocation, and even helped a fellow Avatar’s family get through the winter months when their heating system went out. You never know when bad things are gonna happen, and we try to be there to help when they do.

Now, we have a new call to action:

Bob Cooksey (a.k.a Bob the Builder) who was part of the Portalarium team for many years recently had a horrible fall. This fall led to Bob breaking nine of his ribs. This incident sent Bob the Builder to the emergency room.

The good news is Bob is going to make a full recovery.

The bad news: being between medical insurance plans turned a nasty fall into a swallowing hole of debt owed to the ambulance company, emergency room, and additional clinics.

The bright side: AERIE Fund intervened and paid off a significant amount of Bob’s medical bills related to the fall. Again, thanks to all of your support, we were able to help Bob worry less about finances and focus on what matters: healing and moving onto the next phase of his life. But there’s still more to do!

Here’s how you can help:

We’d like to make Bob whole again (and 100% wipe away the financial burden of the fall), so we’re going to help Bob do a little bit of community fundraising. We encourage all of our supporters to chip in (what you can) and support the Cult of Bob initiative all September-long. Any (and all) financial assistance will go directly to Bob Cooksey to help him get back on his feet again.

1: visit Bob’s GoFundMe page and pledge some support. Don’t forget to leave your avatar’s name in the comments (unless you prefer anonymous) so we can say thanks!

2: we invite you to share this initiative with your friends, guilds, and community orgs in-game. Help spread the word and good works!

3: Feel free to host in-game events to spread awareness, celebrate Bob’s work (its everywhere), and help drive some fundraising. Together, we can play for a cause and help a great guy recover from an unfortunate circumstance.

About Bob the Builder:​

The man in the infamous bunny suit, Bob joined Portalarium in 2011. He was responsible for building most of the in-game homes (we live in) and designing the decorations (especially the furniture) that make our homes unique and beautiful across New Britannia! Bob is a very humble and helpful person, and we’re super-thrilled to lend him a hand. To quote Bob directly: “I’m humbled and speechless. This is the best community in the world. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Thank YOU, Avatars!

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.

 



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