Updates

Release 22 Instructions

September 23, 2015

[A SotA Public Forum post by Starr Long]

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 22 access for all backers at First Responder level and above (as well as DragonCon attendees) begins this Thursday, September 24, at 10:30 AM Central Time (16:30 UTC).

Release 22 feels like a turning point for us. We are starting to gain real momentum on being able to tell the story through new scenes added each release. This release in particular is important for the story because one of those new scenes is the Isle of Storms—our homage to the beloved starting experiences of Ultimas, where questions answered determine your starting path. We are also expanding the breadth of our sandbox experience with new ways for players to engage with the world (fishing) and each other (musical instruments and emote teaching). This expansion in two axes is exemplary of the kind of game we are trying to make, while at the same time very illustrative of how challenging it is to do so.

We also continue to remain dedicated to being responsive to all of your feedback and our analysis of gameplay data. We will continue to make iterative changes to the game to make it better, even if it costs us time. In Release 21, that dedication led us to move to a use-based advancement system. In Release 22, we finish the bulk of the work to complete that change-over. Going forward, we can now balance the game based completely on use-based advancement; no more lingering hidden player levels to hinder this progress. That responsiveness also led us to pull in PVP Loot and Ransom this release, because we felt that the PVP experience was not even close to where it needed to be and it had been too many releases since we had expanded PVP play in any meaningful way.

Release 22 also brings us to the culmination of this entire quarter’s creature work. Many of you may remember that we first began with the Troll in Release 20, trying to see how big we could make creatures and how different we could make the experience of fighting large-scale enemies. This led us to solve technical challenges, like them turning around properly and their head tracking their current target, which in-turn led us to solve turning and head tracking. It also brought us cool features like trajectory-based knockback, allowing these big creatures to knock us off tall things (to better soften us up before eating). In Release 21, we started solving problems around combat with flying creatures with the Phoenix. Now we come to Release 22, where all that learning combines into our largest and most complex creature yet… the Dragon! We still have more polish on these large creatures to get them to the quality standard we all want, but they are already inspiring to see and fight.

We also were finally able to make some time for a round of optimizations that have greatly increased performance in our worst areas. Some say Ardoris is even playable! We plan to get even more performance improvements in Release 23, when we hope to upgrade to a newer version of Unity 5. Speaking of Release 23, tomorrow I will be posting our Fourth Quarter Schedule Update as usual. It will show the roadmap for the next three releases after Release 22 so everyone can see how we plan to finish out 2015 (spoiler: we don’t finish the game).

I want to express a huge amount of gratitude to our Dev+ backers who tested all of the below on the QA server and found lots of bugs. They also provided editorial feedback on this post so they are a big reason that this post actually matches what is in the game and that it is easy to read.

While we are getting closer to launch, we are still in a constant state of change, and we do not yet have in-game systems to inform players of these changes, or to share ways to help them to explore new content and systems. This means we rely entirely on this message, and the linked instructions and known issues to convey the current game state. We regularly have to answer questions or filter bug reports because some players elect not to read this valuable information. By taking a few moments to read through this information, a great deal of our time and efforts can be redirected to focus on new “unanswered” questions, and addressing critical issues impacting each release. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to review this post, and for all the truly valuable feedback you continue to provide.

Also, remember that while we are providing new content with each release, our community is working overtime to make new events for you to enjoy. So, be sure to check out a couple of the Community Events Calendars run by our community members (via in-game book or the player run websites Avatars Circle Community Events and Events of the Avatars calendar).

Without further ado, here are the R22 deliverables.

Update of the Avatar #143 – 2015.09.18: Island of Storms, Autism Charity, Blood River, Fauns, Fishing Trophies, R22 Quest Reward, Halloween Goodies, and More!

September 19, 2015

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Island of Storms
Blood River Settlement
Very Large Creatures: Dragons
Fauns
Craftable Fishing Trophies
Release 22 Grand Tour Quest Reward: Steampunk Goggles
Autism Awareness Charity Drive
Dyeable Witch Hat
Spider Wall Decorations
45 Day Countdown for Fall Reward & Sale Expirations
Auto-Canceling Monthly Layaway Payment Plans
In-game Community Weekend Events
Upcoming Events
Recommended Games to Back

Island of Storms

Long ago incredible magical forces crafted this island on shards of the shattered moons where it still floats high above New Britannia. Arabella greets new avatars coming from Earth and guides them with a series of questions that will determine which path they start down: Truth, Love, or Courage. These paths not only determine which plot thread you begin with, they also determine what your starting abilities are and what equipment you have. Building this scene required some new solutions for terrain to allow us to show the island floating in space.

Update of the Avatar #142 – 2015.09.11: Hilt Fortress, Autism Awareness Drive, Jam Sessions, Nightmare “Mount”, Skeleton & Dragon Decos, Monthly Layaway Extension, and More!

September 11, 2015

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

The Fortress at Hilt in Nightshade Pass
Autism Awareness Charity Drive
Musical Jam Session
Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 21 Postmortem
Finn Staber at Unite 2015
Nightmare “Mount” Telethon Reward
Ornate Brass Darklamp
Skeleton Decorations
Stone Dragon Statue Decorations
52 Day Countdown for Fall Reward & Sale Expirations
Monthly Layaway Payment Plan Extension
In-game Community Weekend Events
This Week In the News
Upcoming Events
Recommended Games to Back

The Fortress at Hilt in Nightshade Pass

[A Dev+ Forum Post by Scottie Jones]

Within the Blackblade Mountains, between South Paladis to the west and Midmaer to the east, is the narrow cleft of Nightshade Pass. At its center the winding pass opens up into a bowl-shaped canyon in which rests a shimmering lake fed by icy water flowing down from glaciers hidden higher in the mountains to the north. On the south end of this valley can be seen the tall volcanic mountain of Hilt that gives this region its name.

According to legend, before the Fall of the shards of the shattered moon, there was a great battle between the Gods of Man and the Avatars. It raged all across the face of the world. One of the Avatars saw that they could not win and so, rather than fight the gods, he plunged his blade into the world, desiring to kill that thing which the gods loved most; their creation. The edge of the sword tore through the fertile lands of the world, opening a great and terrible wound which became known as Hellfire Rift. It was here, then, that the gods in their wrath stopped the Avatar and cast him back into the Abyss from which he came. But the damage had been done and the gods, in their wisdom, left the hilt of the blade exposed until such time as some legendary hero from some other legend were to come along and heal the world. That’s what that southernmost peak is supposed to be; the hilt.

Update of the Avatar #141 – 2015.09.04: Blood River Massacre, Fishing, Musical Instruments, Telethon Stretch Goals, Fall Reward Expirations, and More!

September 4, 2015

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

New Single-Player Scene: Blood River Massacre
Fishing in Release 22 (Finally!)
Musical Instruments
Thou Art Invited to Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 21 Postmortem
$52,500 Raised During End of Summer Telethon
59 Day Countdown for Fall Reward & Sale Expirations
Auto-Canceling Monthly Layaway Payment Plans
In-game Community Weekend Events
Upcoming Events
Recommended Games to Back

New Single-Player Scene: Blood River Massacre

Wars often begin through misunderstanding. The Vertas Elves, descendants of the warrior elves crafted by the Obsidians 200 years ago, seek now only to live in peace. But the men who border them remember the wrath the elves unleashed on their people, and do not soon forget. In this new single-player scene — the opening of the Path of Truth — the avatar discovers the aftermath of what will soon become known as the Blood River Massacre. Can a war between two races be averted?

As you can see from the following images, level designer Esteben “Steve” Zaldivar captured the sense of the bloody, smokey aftermath of the massacre:

Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 21 Postmortem

September 4, 2015

Greetings and Salutations!

Please join us Thursday, September 10th at 3:00 PM Central (20:00 GMT) for our next Hangout of the Avatar! Richard, Starr, and Chris will be chatting about Release 21 and giving you a sneak peek at Release 22. 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.*

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 21 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 #140 – 2015.08.28: SotA Included in Syndicate’s Guinness World Record, Play R21 Now!, New Team Members, End-of-Summer Telethon, and More!

August 28, 2015

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Syndicate Includes Shroud of the Avatar in Guinness World Record
Player Owned Towns: The Syndicate’s Arx Draconis
Play Release 21 Now!
R21 Patch Notes
New Dev Team Members
Very Large Creatures: Dragons (Work-in-Progress)
Highlights of New Use Based System
New Pledge Rewards
End-of-Summer Telethon In Just 3 Days
3 Day Countdown for 10% Summer Bonus & Reward Expirations
Streetlamp Decos
New Dyeable Hats
Koldar’s Trading Card Giveaway
In-game Community Weekend Events
Upcoming Events
Recommended Games to Back

The Syndicate Includes Shroud of the Avatar in Guinness World Record

We can’t begin to describe how excited, and honored, we were when Sean Stalzer, head of The Syndicate Guild, informed us that they had their Guinness World Record updated to include Shroud of the Avatar! Here’s an excerpt from the Official Guinness World Record website:

First founded in February 1996, The Syndicate had been active for 19 years 170 days, as of 20 July 2015. The Syndicate prefers to only take part in a limited number of games at any time and is currently focused on Ultima Online, World of Warcraft and Shroud of the Avatar. Additionally, they have been prominent in titles such as Star Wars: The Old Republic and EverQuest. The guild is known for its motto “Long Live The Syndicate”, often abbreviated to “LLTS”.

Their site can be seen here: http://www.llts.org/

Our deepest heartfelt thanks to Sean and the entire Syndicate for including Shroud of the Avatar in their prestigious world record!

LLTS!

End of Summer Telethon of the Avatar!

August 28, 2015

August 31 marks the end of our Summer Bonus promotion and to commemorate the event, we are holding a 12-Hour End-of-Summer Telethon, from 10am CST to 10pm CST, August 31, 2015! We are giving away hourly prizes during the telethon, as well as three Big Prizes, including a Patron, Ancestor, and Lord Pledge!

$52,500: Current Telethon Funds Raised
(in $2500/shot increments)

As a special bonus, we are offering Telethon Funding Stretch Goal Rewards to any backer that pledges a minimum of $5 ~~during the telethon~~ until Midnight August 31, 2015 (Store Credit to make $5 minimum purchase does not apply). The Telethon Funding Stretch Goal Rewards are:

Achieved! $10,000 – Gossamer Cloak
Achieved! $25,000 – Lord British emote & Darklamp
Achieved! $50,000 – Nightmare “Mount” (flaming black coconuts that leave a trail of smoke plus black horse head mask with red flaming eyes)

Warning: Telethon video is Rated PG-13 for Alcoholic Content
(might get upgraded to Rated-R depending on rate of pledges)

Here is the full schedule of events:

10:00 am CST: Welcome! – Meet the Devs / Office Tour – Who: Starr, Richard, Chris, Dallas – Prizes: Patron Pledge, Store Credit
11:00 am CST: Gustball: Devs vs. Players – Host: Lazarus – Prizes: SotA Coin, Store Credit
12:00 pm CST: Deep Dive 1: Story – Who: Tracy, Richard, Lum, Gina – Host: Lumpdizzle – Prizes: SotA Coin, Store Credit
1:00 pm CST: Community 1: Guilds – Who: Gina, BMC, Phoenix Republic, Beran League, Syndicate, Tantulus, etc. +Ken & Joaquin – Host: Amber Raine – Prizes: Poster, Store Credit
2:00 pm CST: Deep Dive 2: Player Property / Player Owned Towns – Who: Ken, Hutch, Starr, Rick, Mathew N., Bob, Andy – Host: Duke violation – Prizes: SotA Coin, Store Credit
3:00 pm CST: Dev Tabletop board game play session – Who: Rick, Ken, Joaquin – Prizes: SotA Coin, Store Credit
4:00 pm CST: Deep Dive 3: Crafting / Economy – Who: Jeff, B, Chris, Starr, Richard – Host: HogwinHD
Prizes: Ancestor Pledge, Store Credit
5:00 pm CST: Community 2: Streamers and Charity – Who: Gina, Wrath, Dallas – Host: Eclipse Maiden – Prizes: SotA Coin, Store Credit
6:00 pm CST: Deep Dive 4: Combat / Creatures – Who: B, Chris, Geoff, Bren, Erik, Starr – Host: TBD – Prizes: Poster, Store Credit
7:00 pm CST: Deep Dive 5: PVP, Guild Warfare – Who: B, Chris, Starr – Host: Jack Frost – Prizes: SotA Coin, Store Credit
8:00 pm CST: PVP Fights in game: Devs vs. Players – Host: Beetlebear / Ambushed – Prizes: SotA Coin, Store Credit
9:00 pm CST: Community 3: Music / Radio / Theatre – Who: Gina, Holt, Amber, Shooter, Stile, Starr, Richard, Chris – Host: Legendary Neurotoxin/ Lolinia – Prizes: Poster, Store Credit
10:00 pm CST: Goodbyes and Thank Yous – Who: Starr, Richard, Chris, Gina, Dallas – Prizes: Lord Pledge, Store Credit

And, yes, there will be shots. However, we learned our lesson in the last Hangout of the Avatar, and in order to delay the possible appearance of Drunk[insert dev name here], we’ve modified the drinking rules such that participating Dev Team members will take 1 Shot/Sip for every $2500 raised during the telethon!

Release 21 Instructions

August 26, 2015

[A SotA Public Forum post by Starr Long]

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 21 access for all backers at First Responder level and above begins this Thursday, August 27 at 10:30 AM Central Time (16:30 UTC).

It has been a truly amazing and humbling month. Our community believes in us so much that we have managed to raise over seven million dollars to date! To celebrate, we are having an all-day telethon on Monday August 31 from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM Central Time (16:00 UTC to 04:00 UTC). The telethon will be hosted by members of our community and include deep dives, Devs vs. Players PVP, Devs vs. Players Gustball, and hourly prize giveaways! We will be posting a detailed schedule this Friday, so stay tuned.

Release 21 contains a lot of new content, but the largest change is a fundamental shift in how advancement works. After many hours of gameplay, more hours of internal discussions, even more hours of digesting player feedback, and even more hours of design, we have decided to move to a Use-Based System for advancement; which replaces our current leveling and skill point allocation system. Trainers must still be visited to unlock abilities, and abilities are still arranged in skill trees, but all skill advancement now comes from use. The more you mine, the better you become at mining… and the more you swing your sword, the better you become at sword swinging. We did not make this decision lightly and it came at the cost of slightly delaying some other features, but we firmly believe this makes the game fundamentally better and more in line with our statements of this game being a spiritual successor to the Ultima games. Please note that the next several releases will involve a lot of rework and balancing to get this working properly with all of our skills. Also expect us to rearrange skill trees multiple times to make them work better with this new system. For now, expect some oddness and skill arrangements that might not make sense in the current system (although they made sense previously). Also we know that we need to better deliver information in the game about the way the system is working. You can find and discuss more details about our current design thinking about the Use-Based System implementation in this forum topic here.

Without further ado, here are the R21 deliverables.

Update of the Avatar #139 – 2015.08.21: Dragons WIP, R21 Dev+ QA, Trolls Invade BMC Debate, Use Based Systems Part 2, Decorating Hometown, Snowy Mountain Template, Obsidian Fence, and More!

August 21, 2015

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

Very Large Creatures: Dragons (Work-in-Progress)
Early Dev+ Release 21 Testing
Trolls Invade the BMC Speaker of the House Debate
Let’s talk about… USE BASED SYSTEMS! Part 2
End-of-Summer Telethon
Hometown: Parade of Homes (and basements)
Player Owned Towns: Snowy Mountains
Obsidian Stone Fence
10 Day Countdown for 10% Summer Bonus & Reward Expirations
Darkstarr Reward Delivery and Airship City Home Limited Availability
In-game Community Weekend Events
Upcoming Events
Recommended Games to Back

Very Large Creatures: Dragons (Work-in-Progress)

Geoff Mellon (character artist), Kevin Wells (character artist), and Bren Wilson (animator) are working on our next Very Large Creature: Dragons! Check out these work-in-progress images:

Darkstarr Reward Delivery and Airship City Home Limited Availability

August 17, 2015

0 Days Until Darkstarr Reward Delivery

Greetings Avatars,

The Darkstarr rewards, available to backers that have a pledge dated prior to July 31, 2013, are expiring after August 31, 2015. All backers that are eligible for any of the four Darkstarr rewards will have those rewards delivered to their account following August 31. They will be listed on your profile account page, similar to the manner in which any Add-On Store items you may have purchased are displayed. The Darkstarr rewards include:

All Tiers ($25 and higher) – The Darkstarr Salute! A special emote that only backers can master and teach to others.
Founder Tier ($65 and higher) – The Darkstarr Cloak! A special cloak for your in-game avatar to wear, proudly displaying the unique Darkstarr symbol, identifying you as a backer of the game.
Virtual Collector Tier ($110 and higher) – The Darkstarr Metronome! For those of you planning to play virtual instruments this mechanical metronome could be very useful! Set this in-game decoration next to your instrument and turn it on!
Citizen Tier ($550 and higher) – The Darkstarr Moondial! A special in-game, yard decoration which will track the heavens day and night! Very useful when planning strategies in-game, as astronomical events which drive some story aspects will be easily determined with this device.

Once those Darkstarr rewards have been distributed to the eligible accounts, they will no longer be associated with specific pledges and cannot be transferred automatically if a pledge is sold or gifted to another account.

If you were thinking of upgrading your pledge to receive any of the rare Darkstarr rewards, you will need to do so by end of day August 31, 2015, after which they will no longer be available.

Airship City Home Limited Availability

When we announced the Airship City Home in Friday’s weekly update, you may have noticed that it was priced at a premium well above the average cost of homes in the Add-On Store. As such, it was not intended to be included as one of the Add-On Store House Selections on the Player Owned Town Submission Form. It was brought to our attention that it was inadvertently included in the submission form menu, so we had it removed this weekend.

As a premium home, the Airship will only be available through the Add-On Store. Our apologies for any confusion this may have caused.