Shroud of the Avatar – Update of the Avatar #86

by GolemDragon · August 15, 2014

Good Evening Friends and Avatars! I hope you all have had a good week. Today’s Update of the Avatar has a few exciting new things… Not only do we have the intro video we have been waiting for but also some fun creature and map screenshots…. I hope you enjoy them…

This week’s edition of Update of the Avatar contains:

Shroud of the Avatar Opening Cinematic
Only 6 Days Until Release 9!
MMORPG.com Release 9 Weekend Access Sweepstakes!
Lord’s Cloak
Darkstarr Training Montage
Galactic Inquiry: Starr Long Talks Persistant Worlds
Call for Lore: Player Written Books
Obsidian Cloak
Alienware Sponsors $20 Pledge Upgrade Coupon
World Builder/Level Designer Job Opening
Upcoming Events

Shroud of the Avatar Opening Cinematic

The opening moments of Shroud of the Avatar where first you learn of the mysterious lands of Novia, and you feel the alluring pull of your destiny…

Only 6 Days Until Release 9!

Release 9 is less than a week away and the community is pretty excited about some of the new stuff that will be added. Here are a few of them….

The Ice Elemental

To accompany the Fire Elemental we introduced in Release 8, the Ice Elemental is a new combat pet, summoned with a Water magic skill:

The Barrel Mimic

I’m sure many of you have fond recollections of the vicious Chest Mimic introduced in an earlier release:

Well, get ready for the Chest Mimic’s equally vicious cousin, the Barrel Mimic:

The City of Ardoris

You’ll finally get to explore the city of Ardoris in Release 9:

Mini-Maps

And to help you with your explorations, Release 9 includes the first iteration of “mini-maps.” Here are all the maps included in R9:

Ardoris

Braemar

Kingsport

Owl’s Head

Ravensmoor

Ravensmoor Dungeon (some maps you acquire, such as this one, may be damaged and incomplete)

Ravensmoor Dungeon (here is an intact version of the Ravensmoor Dungeon map)

MMORPG.com Pre-Alpha Release 9 Weekend Access Sweepstakes!

MMORPG.com is sponsoring an exclusive sweepstakes where they are giving away 1000 Release 9 Weekend Access keys to MMORPG.com members. The cut-off date for eligibility is tomorrow, August 16th, so hurry over to MMORPG.com and get signed up for the sweepstakes!

[http://www.mmorpg.com/contests/sota_beta_sweeps.cfm]

Lord’s Cloak

Included in the basic rewards for the Lord pledge level is this unique cloak sporting the Lord’s symbol, sewn with silver and gold thread suitable for carrying an enchantment. It is permanently enchanted to function as a light source.

Darkstarr Training Montage

Rustic Dragon recently dug out the raw footage for the Darkstarr Training Montage that was part of the $3.25M stretch goal, and is working on the final edit of the video. He should have that wrapped up in a few weeks, so keep an eye out for it in a future update. In the meantime, here are a few snapshots from the training:

Darstarr (aka Starr Long) dressed for training (looks like Starr’s left-over jogging outfit from the 80′s)!

Selecting his weapons…

Bolstering his resolve…

…and entering the training camp!

Galactic Inquiry: Starr Long Talks Persistant Worlds

Call for Lore: Player Written Books

We are looking for our first pieces of “fan fiction” to begin creating books and shelving the Libraries of Novia. In this first round, we are specifically looking for tales about your adventures in The Vale. Submitted works will be reviewed by the Council of Scribes, sent to Lord British for approval, and if accepted, will be published in game over the course of several upcoming releases.

[See forum post by FireLotus for further details]

Obsidian Cloak

Looking to intimidate your enemies with legends of the past? Well, there is nothing like the greatly feared Obsidian Order (as seen in Blade of the Avatar) to strike fear into your foe. For centuries, this symbol has been synonymous with power, destruction, and dark magic. The Obsidian Cloak, available now at 33% off in the Add-On Store, can be yours to wear proudly, if you dare the consequences…

Alienware Sponsors $20 Pledge Upgrade Coupon

Alienware’s powerful gaming rigs are a perfect match for Shroud of the Avatar! To show their support, Alienware is sponsoring $20 SotA Pledge Upgrade Coupons to members of their Alienware Arena community!

These coupons can be used to start a SotA pledge account (for new backers), or to add $20 to an existing pledge account. If, for example, you have a $90 Royal Artisan Pledge, you can use the Alienware coupon to bump you up to a $110 Virtual Collector Pledge.

Pretty sweet deal, right? So, hurry over to the Alienware Arena website and get your $20 Pledge Upgrade Coupon now!

[NOTE: Only one Alienware Pledge Upgrade Coupon can be used per account. Coupon does not apply to Add-On Store items]

World Builder/Level Designer Job Opening

Portalarium currently have an opening for a mid-level to senior-level World Builder/Level Designer for Shroud of the Avatar. Qualifications for the “ideal candidate” are:

Minimum 3 years industry experience (preferably on a shipped game)
Unity experience
Scripting ability
Experience building, texturing, and decorating natural, terrain based exterior environments
An eye for detail, with strong scene compositional skills

If you’d like to join the Portalarium Tribe working on the ground-breaking Shroud of the Avatar, please submit your resume to jobs@portalarium.com. Provide links to your work (if possible), either as actual game play or in document form including images, maps, and event descriptions.

Upcoming Events

Those from the dev team attending Dragoncon in just two short weeks, have a very full schedule, including:

August 29
- 10:00 AM: Videogames Keynote: Technology Trends for Videogames (Starr Long)
- 11:30 AM: World Design – Video Game vs Table Top Panel (Richard)
- 1:00 PM: Games People Play Panel (Starr)
- 7:00 PM: Benefits of Commercial Space – From Grade Schools to Asteroid Mining (Richard)
August 30
- 11:30 AM: Crowdfunding Video Games Panel (Richard)
- 11:30 AM: “Why did they do THAT?” Panel (Starr)
- 1:00 PM: The Politics of Space (Richard)
- 8:30 PM: Profitable Commercial Space Exploration is Upon Us (Richard)
August 31
- 11:30 AM: Shroud of the Avatar Presentation (Starr, Richard, Tracy)
- 4:00 PM: VIP Design Roundtable as part of the basic rewards for the Duke pledge tier and above (Starr, Richard, Tracy)
September 1
- 10:00 AM: Q&A with Richard Garriott
- 1:00 PM: Linear & Interactive Narrative with Tracy Hickman & Richard Garriott (Starr Long moderates)