Updates
Update of the Avatar #67 – 04/04/14: Too Hot in the Hot Tub, R4 Perspective, Easter Goodies, Duke Castle, Baron Rewards, and More!
Greetings Fellow Avatars!
Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:
- The Coconut Horse and Too Hot in the Hot Tub!
- Release 4 Perspectives
- Duke Castle Home
- Baron Rewards
- Easter Goodies
- Rustic 2-Story with Balcony Village Home
- Wood & Plaster 2-Story with Great Hall Village Home
- Blade of the Avatar Novel: Chapter 16
- Alienware R5 Weekend Access Keys and $20 Pledge Upgrade Coupons
- Upcoming Events
- This Week In The News
- Only 3 Days Remain to Purchase/Upgrade/Gift Founder Pledges
The Coconut Horse and Too Hot in the Hot Tub!
It all started innocently enough with the question “Should we do anything for April Fool’s?” That simple question spun out to an incredibly fun and elaborate “not” prank where we made real stuff then pretended it was real, but fake at the same time. We wanted everyone to wonder for several days if we were pranking them for April Fool’s or if the items were real. It was meant to be the ultimate head fake, where at the end (which is now) we could reveal that it was in fact all real, and not a prank. We went so far as to create a new movement mode in the game that is activated by equipping items. In this case it was coconuts that would trigger a skipping animation. This is a real system that we can expand later. We also built the hot tub. The story was that the coconut horse was to be a thank you for the fundraising and the 1-Year Anniversary gift while the hot tub was to be an Add-On Store item.
We realized if we announced an Add-On Store item, but didn’t actually put it in the Add-On Store, that you would all almost immediately realize it was a prank. So we put it in the Add-On Store as a limited quantity and marked it sold out, before the update even went out! The update also went out very late in the day on April 1st whereas most April Fools pranks occur early in the day. It went out so late that most our European backers didn’t even see it until April 2nd.
When it went out, we got lots of complaints about not being able to buy the hot tub. Complaints ranged from “I was at work!” or “My username starts with an “L” so I was too far down the mailing list to get it in time.” Some folks seemed truly angry about the hot tub being sold out before they got to buy one. Darkstarr, being the Lord of Chaos, reveled in this pandemonium. The team heard Starr yelling things like “I feast on their outrage!” or “My chaotic powers grow with each complaint!” We continued to poke at this prank by mentioning the hot tub when we launched the Add-On Store Credit Conversion, as well as during our video hangouts.
With this update, we can reveal that this was an April Fool’s prank, but not really, because both the coconut horse and the hot tub are real! There is now an unlimited supply of Ye Olde Hot Tubs available in the Add-On Store, and we’ve added the Coconut Horse as a basic reward for all SotA backers!
Thank you all for having a sense of humor about the entire thing.
Ye Olde Hot Tub – In Lego!
Unseen Dragon is at it again! Already famous for modeling the Hearth of Britannia, Tortoise & Hare, and assorted SotA homes in Lego, Mr. Drasin has created our liege Lord British, chilling in his Ye Olde Hot Tub! (in front of a Founder Knight’s home!)
LB’s Ye Olde Hot Tub!
Add-On Store Credit Conversion Now Available
[From a public forum post by dallas]
Now you can sell back your Hot Tub if you decide it’s too hot in the hot tub!
Tassilo published a new version of the SotA website yesterday that includes the add-on item meltdown feature. This allows you to sell back any of your digital add-on items for Store Credit. This only works for Add-On items and you cannot convert pledges to Store Credit.
If you accidentally sell back an item, you can repurchase it immediately, unless that item is no longer available in the Add-On Store (such as the Darkstarr Moondial).
You will be able to apply Store Credit toward the purchase (or gifting) of Add-On Store items, or toward the purchase or (or gifting) of a Pledge or toward the purchase of a Pledge Upgrade (but not for pledge payment plans). Remember, once you’ve used Store Credit toward a pledge, it cannot be converted back to Store Credit.
The system is pretty straightforward to use. Just login to the SotA website, go to your Account page, and you’ll see a “Convert to Credits” button next to each of your Add-On items. Press the “Convert to Credits” button and you’ll be asked to confirm your choice.
Once you’ve converted the item, it will be removed from your account page and you will see the value you paid for the item added to the Store Credits value displayed in the box at the top of your account page.
You can now use this Store Credit in the Add-On Store or to purchase or upgrade a pledge. Once you select an item to purchase in the Add-On store, or select a pledge to purchase or upgrade, you will see a change in the Payment Form layout to now include a line for the available Store Credit. the amount applied toward the purchase will default to zero (0). You can click in the Store Credit box to type in the amount of available Store Credit you would like to apply (or change the value with the up/down arrows that become visible when you mouse over the Store Credit box).
That’s it. Please check out the system if there are items you wish to convert to Store Credit (like your Hot Tub) for use on other items or pledges and if you encounter any problems with the system please report it to support@portalarium.com.
dallas
Shroud of the Avatar Sets Crowdfunding Record in March
SotA raised $333k in March, making it the highest crowdfunding month to date for the project (not counting the initial Kickstarter month of April 2013)! All additional funds we raise are applied to the development of the game, allowing us to expand the size of the team (which has grown to 31 members), and increase the amount of content and features.
One of the features we all wished we had enough time and budget for was the addition of mounts in Episode 1, but it just isn’t in the cards. However, we have raised enough funds to give all backers the next best thing: coconuts that sound like horses when banged together! You even get to pantomime trotting around like a horse while you bang them!
