Updates

Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 23 Postmortem


Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Thou hast been invited to the Release 23 Postmortem!

Halloween Party 2015

Please join us Thursday, November 12th at 3:00 PM Central (20:00 GMT) for our monthly Hangout of the Avatar! Richard, Starr, and Chris will be chatting about Release 23 and looking ahead to a very special release indeed; Release 24!  And as usual, FireLotus will be taking your questions and feedback live in the chat-room and also in advance right here in the comments section.*

We will be giving out some really awesome prizes during the 90 minute extended Hangout, and all you have to do to qualify for one is to come hang out with us in the IRC chatroom during the broadcast.  Be sure to tune in… the link to the hangout will be posted here directly before the hangout begins.

*Please keep in mind that questions and feedback related to Release 23 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. ;)

Update of the Avatar #149 – 2015.10.30: Play R23 Now!, Underground Biome, Beran’s Reach, Extra Life, 3 Days Till Reward Expirations, and More!


Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

  • Play Release 23 Now!
  • The Traditional FireLotus Release 23 Party!
  • R23 Patch Notes
  • New Player Owned Town Template: The Underground Biome
  • Player Owned Towns of Beran’s Reach – Capital of The Beran League
  • Extra Life. Play Games. Heal Kids.
  • Localization Leaders Needed
  • R22 Halloween Decoration Contest Winners!
  • Pianist Bernie Katzman Joins Markee Dragon Playing Shroud of the Avatar
  • Last 3 Days for Fall Reward & Sale Expirations
  • Get Your 15% Black Friday Bonus
  • In-game Community Events
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recommended Games to Back


Play Release 23 Now!

SotA_FireLotus_ReleaseParty_R23_4

[A scene from the FireLotus Release 23 Party!]

Release 23 successfully launched yesterday, October 29, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, logging in, and checking out the new changes! Lots of new content to explore, including:

  • Massive changes to combat
  • Tons of Halloween content
  • Expansions to Fishing and Taming
  • New Scenes including the Highvale Battle single-player starting scene, Jaanafort, and Vertas
  • Placeable servants, house pets, and town NPCs
  • New Player Owned Town Underground Biome Template
  • …and more!

Read more…


Release 23 Instructions


[A SotA Public Forum post by Starr Long]

Darkstarr

Greetings Avatars,

Please read this entire message, as well as the linked instructions and known issues.

Thank you for being a loyal backer and follower of Shroud of the Avatar. Release 23 access for all backers at First Responder level and above begins this Thursday, October 29, at 10:30 AM US Central Time (16:30 UTC).

Release 23 is all about moving, literally and figuratively. In fact we literally packed up and moved our entire office during the release! Thanks to our amazing community though, we did not do it alone, and minus the packing, unpacking, and setup it only took us three hours to relocate everything.
When we announced we were going to save money and move ourselves we had no idea the response we would get from all of you. I keep thinking I will start becoming used to what an incredible community we have and then they remind me again with something like this. We are so grateful to have this community supporting us in all ways.

The move almost overshadowed my favorite holiday: Halloween! For as long as I can remember I could not wait to dress up in costume and run around our neighborhood. I actually did not care as much about the candy as I did the pretending that was involved.

I think many of us on the team have that same love of the holiday and as promised, we delivered a plethora of spooky content. As we have done in the last few releases, we are trying to better balance how much content we put in the add on store versus in the game as craftable goods. SotA_Jack-o-Lantern-6Pack_smallBecause we are still actively raising funds, we still lean heavily towards the add on store but we are making more effort to always try to include at least one item of the type we are selling inside the game.

We continued the work of the last few releases on massive changes to combat in an effort to make it more balanced, playable, and interesting. The biggest change is an entirely new combat tree that players have been asking for; Subterfuge! This tree will eventually encompass a well rounded set of rogue-ish skills that mixes new skills (Poison Weapon) along with moving skills from other trees (Silent Movement). We also did a complete rebalance and recalculation of how armor works and completely revamped how resistances work with something we call Attunement. Finally, we continued to expand my favorite magic tree: Chaos!

Read more…


Update of the Avatar #148 – 2015.10.23: Hello One Far West, BMC Convention, NBNN at Portalarium, Sprichst Du Deutsch?, Pianist Bernie Katzman & Markee Dragon, and More!


Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

  • Hello One Far West
  • Britannian Mining Company Convention
  • NBNN at Portalarium
  • Water Gets an Experimental Makeover in Release 23
  • Sprichst Du Deutsch? Ou peut-être français?
  • Small and Subtle: Tier Markers
  • Starr Long Intel Buzz Presentation: Design Vision vs. Feedback: Developing in the Open
  • Pianist Bernie Katzman Joins Markee Dragon Playing Shroud of the Avatar LIVE
  • Halloween Party with Costume and Music Contests!
  • 17 Day Countdown for Fall Reward & Sale Expirations
  • Get Your 15% Black Friday Bonus
  • In-game Community Weekend Events
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recommended Games to Back


Hello One Far West

Last week we bid farewell to the Greystone One office building, where we’ve been officing since the completion of our Kickstarter campaign in 2013. As we mentioned before, we moved ourselves in order to conserve our backer funding. Fortunately for us, the BMC was holding their first annual Convention here in Austin on that very same weekend, with BMC guild members coming in from all points of the country.

Read more…


Mail Server Issues ~ 2015.10.19


Greetings Avatars! We are currently investigating some technical issues with our mail service. As a result of these issues, there may be delays in signup confirmation emails, lost password requests, and similar activities. We appreciate your patience while we work to resolve the problem.

Update: We’re back up and running, Avatars! Thanks for your patience. :)


Update of the Avatar #147 – 2015.10.16: Farewell Greystone One, Eniko’s Musical Showcase, Vertas, Etceter, Hilt, Gallery of Horrors, Spooky Bundles, and More!


Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

  • Farewell Greystone One
  • Eniko’s Musical Instruments Showcase
  • Vertas
  • Etceter
  • The Fortress at Hilt in Nightshade Pass – Part 3
  • The Gallery of the Wonderful Horrors
  • Think Small!
  • Spooky Bundles
  • Things are Heating Up!
  • The Blocks are Back
  • 17 Day Countdown for Fall Reward & Sale Expirations
  • Get Your 15% Black Friday Bonus
  • Auto-Canceling Monthly Layaway Payment Plans
  • In-game Community Weekend Events
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recommended Games to Back


Farewell Greystone One

Farewell_GreystoneOne

In May 2013, just a few weeks after our successful Kickstarter campaign for Shroud of the Avatar, we moved in to Suite 300 of the Greystone One building, nestled in the hills and trees of north-central Austin. It is hard to believe that two and half years have passed since that move. It has been a tremendously exciting journey we’ve traveled with all of you during this time! We’re on the verge of launching our 23rd monthly Release, our backer community has grown from the initial 22k to over 56k, and the ongoing backer contributions have fueled our team growth over the years, not all of who are still with us, but whose contributions will live on forever!

Read more…


Update of the Avatar #146 – 2015.10.09: DND1, Highvale Village, Jannaford, NPC Submissions, R22 Postmortem, Combat Chat, Craftable Items, Halloween Specials, and More!


Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

  • Play DND1 on the SotA Teletype
  • Highvale Village
  • New R23 Scene: Jannaford
  • NPC Submissions Requested for Jaanaford!
  • Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 22 Postmortem
  • Combat/Skills/Spells Video Chat
  • Craftable Items
  • Wax Cylinder Phonographs
  • Ornate Skull Candle
  • Wolves, Bears, and Zombies! Oh My!
  • Halloween Specials
  • 24 Day Countdown for Fall Reward & Sale Expirations
  • Get Your 15% Black Friday Bonus
  • Auto-Canceling Monthly Layaway Payment Plans
  • In-game Community Weekend Events
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recommended Games to Back


SotA_DND1_Teletype

Play DND1 on the SotA Teletype

Read more…


Update of the Avatar #145 – 2015.10.02: 15% Black Friday Bonus, New Single Player Scene, Fortress at Hilt, Combat Chat, Jack-O-Lanterns, Grim Reaper, and More!


Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

  • Get Your 15% Black Friday Bonus Starting Now!
  • New Single Player Scene: Highvale Village Battle
  • The Fortress at Hilt in Nightshade Pass – Part 2
  • Invitation To Combat/Skills/Spells Video Chat
  • Invitation to Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 22 Postmortem
  • Release 23 Grand Tour Quest Reward: Plague Doctor Mask
  • Jack-o-Lantern 6-Pack
  • Grim Reaper Statue
  • Spider Web 6-Pack
  • New Lute and Piano
  • 31 Day Countdown for Fall Reward & Sale Expirations
  • Auto-Canceling Monthly Layaway Payment Plans
  • In-game Community Weekend Events
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recommended Games to Back


Get Your 15% Black Friday Bonus Starting Now!

Last year we extended our Black Friday Promotion to give you 8 weeks to take advantage of our Black Friday 15% Bonus, and we’re doing it again this year! This is especially helpful for backers that intend to pledge or upgrade prior to the Fall Reward & Sale Expiration Event ! Here are the details:

For all new purchases (including pledges, pledge upgrades, add-on items, player owned towns, player owned town upgrades, stretch goal items, and Make a Difference items) between 12:00 am CST October 2, 2015 and 12:00 am CST December 1, 2015, we will add an additional 15% bonus to your Store Credit! You can use your Store Credit toward additional purchases (which includes pledges, pledge upgrades, add-on items, player owned towns, and player owned town upgrades).

[NOTE: The 15% bonus is calculated every day at 1:00 pm CST for any purchases within the previous 24 hours and added to your Store Credit account; Any monthly payments paid during the promotion period also receive the 15% bonus; Store Credit cannot be applied toward the purchase of stretch goal or make a difference items]

You can use the 15% Bonus to save on your next purchase! For example, if you have the $45 Adventurer pledge and really want to upgrade to the $90 Royal Artisan pledge, you would normally pay the extra $45 for the upgrade. But using the 15% bonus you can immediately save $5. To do so, you would first purchase $40 worth of Store Credit Gift Coupons (via PayPal, Amazon, Bitcoin, or credit card; excluding existing Store Credit) then use the “Convert to Credits” option on your account page to transform the Store Credit Gift Coupons into Store Credit. Within 24 hours an additional $6 bonus ($40 x 15%) would be applied to your Store Credit account, bringing it up to $46. You would then use $45 of your Store Credit to upgrade to the $90 Royal Artisan pledge.

Read more…


Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 22 Postmortem


Greetings Avatars!

Drop your fishing pole, put up your lute, and please join us Thursday, October 8th at 3:00 PM Central (20:00 GMT) for our next Hangout of the Avatar! Richard, Starr, and Chris will be chatting about the highlights of Release 22 and giving everyone a sneak peek at what to expect for Release 23. And, of course, FireLotus will be taking your questions and feedback live in the chat-room and also in advance right here in the comments section.*

concert

We will be giving out some really awesome prizes during the 90 minute extended Hangout, and all you have to do to qualify for one is to come hang out with us in the IRC chatroom during the broadcast. As always, the link to the hangout will be posted here directly before the hangout begins.

*Please keep in mind that questions and feedback related to Release 22 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. ;)


Update of the Avatar #144 – 2015.09.25: Play Release 22 Now!, Q4 Schedule, Autism Awareness, and More!


Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

  • Play Release 22 Now!
  • FireLotus Release 22 Dance Party!
  • R22 Patch Notes
  • Release 22 Screenshot Gallery: Fishing
  • Jakup White’s Map of the World
  • Wanted: Athanil of Bear Tavern
  • Q4 2015 Schedule Update
  • Tavern Rap by Briar Vesper
  • Rough Stone Building Blocks
  • Autism Awareness Charity Events
  • SpeedTree Contributes Autism Awareness Puzzle Tree
  • Stone Crypt
  • Elven Homes
  • 38 Day Countdown for Fall Reward & Sale Expirations
  • Auto-Canceling Monthly Layaway Payment Plans
  • In-game Community Weekend Events
  • This Week In The News
  • Upcoming Events
  • Recommended Games to Back


Play Release 22 Now!

SotA_Dragon3

Release 22 successfully launched yesterday, September 24, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, logging in, and checking out the new changes! Lots of new content to explore, including:

  • Dragons!
  • Fishing!
  • Music! Includes playble Lutes, Pianos, and Synchronized Group Play.
  • New Scenes including Isle of Storms, Blood River Massacre and Blood River Settlement
  • New Elven homes, Dragon Statues, Stone Building Blocks, and new Decorations, including skeletons, spiders, & crypt
  • New Crafting Recipes, including building blocks, fishing poles, lute, piano, coconut bra, trophy fish, gravestones, etc.
  • Many new Player Owned Towns
  • Emote Teaching
  • New Skills and Combat Balanced
  • …and more!

Read more…