SOTA NewsAvatar’s Update #303: Play Release 59 Now, Deck Building Livestream Today

Jack T. Lamplighter · 10/26/2018 03:04 PM

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

Game Development

Play Release 59 Now!Dr

News Announcements

Community Updates

Play Release 59 Now!

Release 59 successfully launched yesterday, October 26, with thousands of backers downloading, patching, and logging in to check out the changes! There’s lots of new content to explore, including:

Fishing Phase 2
Pumpkin Head and his minions (seasonal)
Revamped New User Experience
Universal Chat
Decay Removed
Spooky Dungeon Entrance Patterns
Performance Improvements
Tons of Bug Fixes
User Interface Polish
R56 Livestream Item: Aether Dragon Statue
R57 Livestream Items: Dungeon Theme
R59 QA Testing Incentive Winners
R59 Lot Deed Raffle Winners
…and much more!

Check out the Release 59 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 downloaded the game yet, go to www.shroudoftheavatar.com and click the “Play Now” button. The game is also available on Steam.

Release 59 Player Instructions

Release 59 Known Issues

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

Innascual Inch: Very impressive amount of work done and excellent quality of life changes!! Great work on listening to your customers Portalarium. Very excited I am.

Cordelayne: This made my release. Great work Port team! (in response to Pumpkin Head)

brypie84: looks hot…. ready to try it out :)……..good work ………love the game!!

Serion: Great work team! Keep the creativity flowing and please know your efforts are deeply appreciated.

Rothmeridias: This is great! Thank you! I continue to be impressed by your team.

BelGarian3: Outstanding! The efforts towards game enhancements are greatly appreciated. Can’t wait to see what is around the corner.

NEILMHK: It is really exciting to say goodbye to DECAY. Thanks to the design team for making this valuable decision. It is definitely moving in the right direction. The more the team pays attention to the player’s feelings, the players will be full of expectations for each update, we will also feel the joy of the game.

Sara Dreygon: I’m so excited about the fishing going in! Kudos for Port for taking the time to develop something so deep that even I get excited about it! Fantastic work!

Deck Building Livestream Today

Another content packed weekly Community Livestream is this Friday October 26 at 4 PM CDT on Twitch!

This week we are going to talk about Deck Building! In our classless skills system the deck building mechanic allows you to build a set of skills around a theme and equip them along with associated gear. Decks can be built to be a “class” (fighter, ranger, mage, etc.) as well as for certain situations (PVP, boss fight, etc.). In Release 59 as part of the New User experience revamp we now start you with three different decks instead of just one per path and we polished the visuals for the deck builder UI so we thought it would be a good time to have Travis “Vas Corp Por” Koleski, Joaquin “Wizardsmoke” Del Canto, and Chris “Atos” Spears walk you through the fine points of our deck building mechanics.

This is the first Friday to earn the Release 59 Fish themed stretchgoals by making a purchase or by participating in the Rewards program! As a reminder we will be having massive sales (up to 50% off!) from noon to midnight on Friday to help us hit those stretch goals.

$10K: Fish Pavers
$25K: Fish Throne
$35K: Fish Mask Set
$50K: Big Trophy Fish Stone Statue Set
$65K: Fish Shield & Swordfish Sword
$75K: Big Fish Mask Set (Shark & Lava!)
$85K: Unique Dungeon Encounter Room with Fishing Spot
$95K: Fish Scale Armor

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 “Reel it in” in the chat window (no purchase necessary).

Watch on Twitch this Friday at 4 PM CDT!

R59 Livestream: Fish Themed!

The Release 59 Livestream is set for Friday November 2! All Avatars from around the world are welcome 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 Fishing Phase 2 going live in Release 59 the theme for this livestream is Fish!

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
3:30PM: Deep Dive 1: Fishing
4:30PM: Q&A
5:30PM: Deep Dive 2: Boss Behaviors
6:30PM: Q&A
7PM: Ending Announcements

STRETCH GOALS (Fish 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 November 2 from 12:00 PM to 11:59 PM CDT (Nov 2 17:00 to Nov 3 5 05:00 UTC). In honor of the Fishing Phase 2 going live in Release 59 the theme for this livestream is Fish!

All purchases during the twelve hour window will count towards the stretch goals, not just the four hours of the livestream! Also participation in the Rewards Program counts towards our stretch goal totals!

Please note that we have extended availability of the stretch goals to every Friday of the release for 12 hours per the new Stretch Goal Tracking Changes.

$10K: Fish Pavers
$25K: Fish Throne
$35K: Fish Mask Set
$50K: Big Trophy Fish Stone Statue Set
$65K: Fish Shield & Swordfish Sword
$75K: Big Fish Mask Set (Shark & Lava!)
$85K: Unique Dungeon Encounter Room with Fishing Spot
$95K: Fish Scale Armor

*Please keep in mind that stretch goal rewards take time to develop and will most likely not be available until Release 61 at the earliest. We will keep you updated!

12 HOURS OF SALES:

We will be having twelve hours of sales around the livestream from 12:00 PM to 11:59 PM CDT (Oct 4 17:00 to Oct 5 05:00 UTC)! Items in the following categories will be on sale at approx. 50% off. As noted above, all purchases during this time will count towards the stretch goals!

WIN THESE GREAT PRIZES!

We will be giving prizes away on an hourly basis with many being given away multiple times. Enter for a chance to win a prize by either logging into the game and typing “Reel it in” into chat OR by purchasing any item from our store during the livestream!

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!

Upgrading Bundles with Crowns (ends 12/21)

As many of you know we are expiring all of our bundles before the end of the year. Viking and Kobold bundles expire on November 30. Elven, Obsidian, and Shogun bundles expire on December 21. In Release 59 we will be adding the contents of the bundles to crown vendors as single purchases, however they will not have any upgrade functionality. Based on numerous requests from those of you who have been saving up your crowns we are going to offer an alternative path for upgrading bundles using crowns. For a limited time (offer ends December 21, 2018) you can purchase a service voucher to use crowns to upgrade your bundle!

If you wish to upgrade your bundle with crowns please email us at support@portalarium.com BEFORE purchasing the voucher. In the request please list the name of the bundle you wish to upgrade, and the bundle you wish to upgrade it to (e.g., Elven 2-Story Row Tax Free Bundle to Elven Village Tax Free Bundle). We will then determine how many crowns you need for the upgrade and notify you of that amount so you can decide before proceeding. Only then will you purchase the voucher and we will then remove the crowns from your inventory.

Please note that we will be using the non-sale exchange rates that are currently on the store for this transaction.

50% Item Fridays & 20% Crown Weekends Holiday Sales

To celebrate our first holiday season since launching we are putting most items* in the store on sale for 50% off, our deepest discounts ever, every Friday noon to midnight, until December 21, 2018!

Additionally we are having our first sale on Gold Crowns of the Obsidians ever! Some packages are discounted as much as 20% every weekend through December 21, 2018!

*Note that this sale does not include the already discounted and expiring Bundles and associated items.

Elven, Obsidian, & Shogun Expirations

To celebrate our first holiday season since launching the Elven, Obsidian and Shogun Bundles are expiring at 11:59 PM CT on December 21, 2018! As a limited time bonus we have added Episode 2 access to these bundles! We will also be expiring several of the items that are included in those bundles including pets, weapons, decorations and homes. We are also discounting these items, some as much as 30%! For City level bundles this means a $1000 discount!

NOTE: This is a final expiration. Upgrades will not be allowed after these bundles expire.

Viking & Kobold Expirations

To celebrate our first holiday season since launching the Viking and Kobold Bundles are expiring at 11:59 PM CT on November 30! As a limited time bonus we have added Episode 2 access to these bundles! We will also be expiring several of the items that are included in those bundles including pets, weapons, decorations and homes. We are also discounting these items, some as much as 30% For City level bundles this means a $1000 discount!

NOTE: This is a final expiration. Upgrades will not be allowed after these bundles expire.

Physical Goods Shipping Phase 2 – Check your Shipping Address by Nov 2!

[From a forum post by Serafina]

We would like to thank you for your continued patience with getting Physical Rewards out to you.

As you may already know, we had issues with the address verification system unconfirming addresses. We have removed the bugged system.

If you are due physical goods with your pledge but haven’t gotten them yet, we plan to ship them out to you with Phase 2, which is scheduled for later in Q4.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NOW:

1. Make sure your Shipping Address is filled out on the Account page under Edit Profile.

2. Check the box below it that reads, “Ship my physical rewards to this address! (This box must be checked for physical rewards to be shipped.)”

3. Click the “Update Profile” button at the bottom of the page.

If your address was confirmed before this change, the checkbox should be checked already, but please make sure it’s checked and you click Update Profile to be safe.

For shipping addresses outside the United States, you must have International Shipping listed under your Add-Ons tab on your Account page. If you do not have it listed, you can purchase International Shipping in the Game Services store.

The deadline for checking the checkbox and purchasing International Shipping on your account (if applicable) is November 2, 2018.

Thank you again for your continued patience and support!

Shroud of the Avatar Boxed Editions $40 off Holiday Sale!

For those of you who missed the opportunity to purchase the Collector’s Boxed Edition of Shroud of the Avatar during the Kickstarter (expired on January 4, 2016) can now purchase the retail Boxed Edition from Amazon. Additionally for a limited time we are also offering a signed version of the retail Boxed Edition (see above) for purchase directly from our website! To celebrate the holidays these two versions are on sale for $40 off their regular price until December 21, 2018 ($49 on Amazon, $99 for signed)!

These editions include:

Physical Goods:

Game Box signed by Lord British* (signed edition only)
Game Manual
DVD in case
Runic Translation Card
Ankh Trinket
Cloth Map
Our Epic Origins

Digital Items:

Digital Download of Shroud of the Avatar, Episode 1 (Full Game Access)
30 Bank Slots to store your gear
1 Gold Crown
Pick 1 Obsidian Potion
Digital Download of Shroud of the Avatar, Episode 2 (Full Game Access when released)
Exclusive Title: Visionary
Exclusive Emote (exact emote to be created at a future date)
NEW: Unique Item (to be created at a a future date)

New User Experience Weekly Livestream (YouTube)

Last week’s weekly livestream was about the revamped New User Experience going into Release 59. This includes a new tutorial area in Isle of Storms and a rebuilt version of Solace Bridge. Keith “Sannio” Quinn, Sara “Serafina” Dworken and Travis “Vas Corp Por” Koleski walked us through the new tutorial area and discussed the key differences and improvements of this experience including how choosing your story path is now independent of your starting decks.

We gave out lots of spooky items as prizes to tie in with the weekend Spooky sale. We also made huge progress towards the Dragon themed stretchgoals with players making purchases or by participating in the Rewards program. These stretchgoals are in honor of the Wyverns which went live in Release 58. In fact by the time we got to midnight we hit two more stretchgoals!

ACHIEVED $10K: Dragon Egg Decorations
ACHIEVED $25K: /breathefirespiral
ACHIEVED $35K: Dragon Skin Rugs (2 colors)
ACHIEVED $50K: Dragon Dungeon Entrance Pattern
ACHIEVED $65K: Dragon Bow & Dragon Plate Helm
$80K: Dragon Sword & Dragon Polearm
$90K: Dragon Mask Set (multiple color variants) with smoke VFX
$100K: Unique Dungeon Dragon Encounter Room

In case you missed it you can now view it on YouTube:

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 12 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: Water

In Release 59 we starting Fishing Phase 2 including multiple water types, over 30 new fish, new fishing skills, new fish recipes, and more. In honor of this massive expansion to the fishing system all water homes, water lots, water decorations, and water related items are on sale this weekend, including the entire Water.org Make a Difference Store!

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

Oct 26, 2018 – Weekly Livestream: Deck Building
Oct 29, 2018 – Release 59 Dance Party
Nov 2, 2018 – Release 59 Livestream
Nov 15, 2018 – Release 60
Nov 19, 2018 – Release 60 Dance Party
Nov 30, 2018 – Release 60 Livestream
Dec 13, 2018 – Release 61
Dec 17, 2018 – Release 61 Dance Party
Dec 21, 2018 – Release 61 Livestream
Jan 31, 2019 – Release 62
Feb 2, 2019 – Release 62 Livestream
Feb 28, 2019 – Release 63
Mar 8 – 17, 2019 – SXSW
Mar 18 – 22, 2019 – GDC
Mar 28, 2019 – Release 64
Apr 25, 2019 – Release 65
May 30, 2019 – Release 66
June 27, 2019 – Release 67
July 25, 2019 – Release 68
Aug 29, 2019 – Release 69

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: R59 Dance Party with DJ Darkstarr

[Forum post by Amber Raine]

What: Release 59 Dance party with DJ Darkstarr
Where: Clubsidius, Obsidious (POT)
When: October 29th 2018 3pm – 6pm

Pixie, kobold, elf, and sprite
All are on their rounds to-night,—
In the wan moon’s silver ray
Thrives their helter-skelter play.

Fond of cellar, barn, or stack
True unto the almanac,
They present to credulous eyes
Strange hobgoblin mysteries.

Pumpkin-stumps—straws wet with dew—
Apple-skins, and chestnuts too,
And a mirror for some lass
Show what wonders come to pass.

Doors they move, and gates they hide
Mischiefs that on moonbeams ride
Are their deeds,—and, by their spell,
Love recorded by the Oracle.

Don’t we all, of long ago
By the ruddy fireplace glow,
In the kitchens and the halls,
Those queer, coof-like dances are recalled?

We once again invite you to our release party
to make magical mysteries and memories of your own
in Clubsidius, Obsidius

Directions: Obisidius is an underground Player Owned Town nested in Soltown. The entrance is a hatch right by the entrance to the overworld. The party will be in Clubsidius which is located in an Obsidian Inn in the center of town. When you first enter the town just proceed straight forward to the town center, pass the Oracle Confirmatory, enter the Obsidian Inn directly behind the confirmatory, and proceed to the roof to party!

Community Event: Fishing Derby this Saturday (Oct 27)

[Forum post by Vladamir Begemot]

Fishing Derby this Saturday (Oct 27) at 1 PM Central/NB Time – over 200k in prizes!

Come one come all to celebrate the new fish that have sprung up within Novia!

Compete for great prizes!

1st 100,000 gold
2nd 50,000 gold
3rd 25,000 gold

Special: Either a crafted home of choice, or a crafted Grand Piano with Meteoric Iron piano wire!

Pay what you can Entry Fee.

Fishing vendor on site, but see if you can dig up new bait before then! All poles and bait are allowed.

S Mart Factorium is on the world map by Resolute. See you there!

Community Event: Halloween Ball in Immortal City

[Forum post by Alleine Dragonfyre]

Immortal City is having a Halloween Ball this Friday.

Costume Contest, Drunken Maze Races, Treats for the Trick or Treaters hosted by DJ @Alleine Dragonfyre during The Beat of Novia on Avatars Radio this Friday!

Community Event: Design the S Mart Heraldry contest

[Forum post by Vladamir Begemot]

S Mart needs your help! We’ve been hemming and hawing over our Heraldry for quite some time, and just couldn’t get it right.

So we’re running a contest. See below for some mock-ups of what we’re looking for. These are the general idea.

The person in the chair should be in more of a lounge, comfortable, pajama style outfit
The person should also be more comfortable, lounging back and reading, maybe with a leg crossed over the other
We think that no background is better for heraldry (see the one with all the white)
I put the empty chair pic in for reference, I do like the Brown Suede chair
Different styles are fine
A thought was also having a window frame that the “viewer” is looking in through. I don’t like the idea much, Viola does, but if you go for it and it’s the best, we’ll use it!

If you want to throw some joke Heraldry, or something totally different that you think might work, go for it.

Post here a 256×256 .png, this is what will be being judged, as it is what will be uploaded to the Heraldry server.

The winner has to agree that the work becomes our property to use as we please.

You don’t have to include the source files, but I will appreciate it if you do. I will use it to make a real footer in my forum posts, and use it as a watermark, logo, etc.

Contest closes on November 5th, 11:59 Central Time/NBT. We will announce the winner on November 6th. 50 COTO’s to the winner!

Community Event: Halloween Dance Party & Costume Contest

[Forum post by Cianna]

Where: Aelasar’s Forest (The Druid’s Den Social Hall)

When: Saturday, October 27th, 2018

Time: 4:00 – 8:00 NBT (5:00 – 9:00 EST)

Come join us for a Halloween party and costume contest in Aelesar’s Forest. Wear a costume and be eligible for our prize drawings. (Judging will take place in the first two hours of the event, so if you want to participate in the contest, you must be present during that time period.)

We will enjoy music (with special Halloween themed songs) from Avatar Radio’s DJ Fionwyn Wyldemane.

1st prize: Taxable POT village lot deed
plus an elven house

2nd prize: Creepy doll & set of 7 carved pumpkins (from add-on store)

3rd prize: Creepy doll

Honorable Mentions: five contestants will receive 2 cotos each as honorable mentions

Hope to see you there!

Directions:

To the Forest: Aelasar’s Forest is nested in Central Brittany. If you take the West (default) entrance into Central Brit, you’ll see the covered wagons on your right. The first wagon on the left is labeled “Forest.” Click on that and you will see the link to Aelasar’s Forest.

To the Party: if you arrive in town at either the docks or the central bridge, turn to your left (due south) and follow the water’s edge till you hit the three-story elven tree home. Party Central!

Project to Support – The Dreams in Gary’s Basement

“The Dreams in Gary’s Basement: A Documentary on Gary Gygax” (Kickstarter)

“Gary is a down-on-his-luck shoe repairman, but when he pursues his passion for fantasy games, it takes him on a real-life adventure.”

Gary Gygax was one of the great minds of the 20th century – his innovations have influenced generations of artists and spawned tens of billions of dollars in global revenue.

With Dungeons & Dragons, Gary crafted a vehicle for engaging the mind at a creative, analytical, social and even emotional level – all at the same time. There is truly nothing else like it.

Gary’s work has woven itself into the fabric of our culture, yet there is no monument to recognize him, not even in his own hometown. We intend this project to be a filmic monument of sorts – a high-quality, emotionally engaging record of Gary’s story that can be appreciated by gamers and non-gamers alike for generations to come.

Join the Kickstarter now!

Project to Support: Dragons & Dragonkin – The Coloring Book!

“The artist’s second coloring book – this time celebrating all manner of Dragons & Dragonkin with all new original pieces!”

Indi Martin of Tortoise & Hare Creations who illustrated our Shroud of the Avatar comic books and successfully created an awesome Adult Coloring Book is running her second Kickstarter right now!

Welcome to Dragons & Dragonkin, the Kickstarter campaign for my second coloring book!

In October 2016, I finally Kickstarted my first coloring book. I love doing lineart and inks, and had fielded several requests to pursue one, but I wanted to wait until I found a theme I could really sink my teeth into – I love themes! That theme was Dangerous Women, and 84 wonderful backers helped bring it to life. The original goal was a 24-illustration coloring book, but stretch goals helped bring it up to 40! Since its publishing, it’s become one of my best-sellers at conventions.

I knew I wanted to tackle another coloring book, but again, I wanted to wait until I felt drawn to a theme that could sustain at least 40 pieces. As fantasy illustration has become a larger chunk of my work over the last few years, I knew it would be down that path – and once it hit me, it seemed so obvious. I always joke that none of my dragons look more than tangentially related – they’re my favorite creature on which to practice new shading techniques, new shapes, scales, feathers, anything really. For Inktober this year, I wanted to do some of that experimentation, but also drill down a bit and see if there was a recognizably-“Indi” dragon type in there somewhere too. It also struck me as the perfect theme for my next coloring book – Dragons & Dragonkin!

Join the Kickstarter now!

Resources – Players Helping Players

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.

View the full article

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SOTA NewsAvatar’s Update #303: Play Release 59 Now, Deck Building Livestream Today

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