Shroud of the Avatar – Update of the Avatar #184

by GolemDragon · July 8, 2016

Greetings Fellow Avatars! There is not alot of new news this week, however I hope that we get news on Unity patch and bug fixes soon. Also, no Cult of Spears lore until next week due to being busy with obligations that required me to be out of town most nights this week until very late. I hope to have it out next week as we have a new chapter that focuses back on Dippy.

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

Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 31 Postmortem

Not much this week in the Postmortem. The biggest news was Richard talking about the general focus of two of the future episodes of Shroud of the Avatar.

Lord British and Darkstarr Reliquaries

When Richard “Lord British” Garriott asked artist Steve Brudniak to create reliquaries for the blood of Lord British and Darkstarr, Steve did not blink an eye. Making pieces with stories like these are just the kind of unique visions that Mr. Brudniak is known for and why Lord British has several pieces in his own collection. You can see some of Steve’s other work on his website.

These Reliquaries are unique pieces of art made of bakelite, copper, nails, glass, and mirrored glass that can be hung on your wall. They contain the “Blood of Lord British” and the “Blood of Darkstarr” which was collected and recorded in this video There are only 6 of each these that are made and were up on eBay only to be pulled down, most likely becuase they violated eBay’s guidelines anyways when it comes to anything involving human or biological remains. The first two are instead up on the Make A Difference Store. They are still researching the charity that a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to. Future ones I am sure will be posted up on the SotA website in the near future.

Your purchase includes not only the Reliquary itself, but a large assortment of digital items. These items include access to the game, Viking or Kobold themed items, a Tax Free POT Castle Lot Deed and unique blood themed items like a /bloodrain emote!

As a limited time bonus they are also including a Studio Visit to the Portalarium offices (travel costs not included)!

LORD BRITISH BLOOD RELIQUARY:

Physical Items:
- Lord British Blood Reliquary:
  - 1 of 6 pieces of art by Steve Brudniak.
  - Dimensions: 4.75″ x 9″ x 1″
  - Contains a sample of the “Blood of Lord British”.
  - Materials: Bakelite, Copper, Mirrored Glass, Nails, Glass, “Blood of Lord British”.
- Studio Visit:
  - Come see our offices in Austin, Texas.
  - Travel costs not included.
  - Dates to be coordinated and approved by Portalarium.
Digital Items:
- Early Access to Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues Episode 1
- Blood Themed Items:
  - Blood Fountain*
  - Blood Reliquary Home Decoration*
  - Option to have your Player Owned Town Water turn Blood Red*
  - Blood Elemental Pet*
  - /bloodrain emote**
  - Blood Red Lord British Cloak*
- Viking Tax Free POT Castle Bundle:
  - Tax Free Player Owned Town Castle Lot Deed**
  - Viking Great Hall City home**
  - 2-Story City Stone Basement
  - 35 Gold Crowns of the Obsidians
  - Pick 12 Prosperity Tools
  - Viking Horned Helmet
  - Viking Fur Collared Cloak
  - Round Targe Shield**
  - Ornate Wooden Wolf Pipe**
  - Pick 12 Obsidian Potions
  - Ornate Viking Chest**
  - Aether Vibration Amplifier Console
  - 3 Pack Potted Blue Spruce Trees
  - Ornate Skull Candle
  - Ornate Metal Phonograph
  - 4 Viking Wooden Fence Kits
  - Small Longboat Decoration
  - 6 pack Blue Spruce Trees
  - Ornate Wooden Streetlamp 6 Pack
  - Ornate Wooden Four Poster Canopy Bed
  - Vintage Cordovan 5 Drawer Curved Dresser
  - Ornate Wooden Hot Tub
  - Stone Bear Statue
  - Pet: Winter Rottweiler**
  - Access to Dev+ Section of Forums
  - Commision Free Player Vendor
  - /meditate emote**
  - 500 Bank Slots
  - Pick 4 Expert Crafting Stations

DARKSTARR BLOOD RELIQUARY:

Physical Items:
- Darkstarr Blood Reliquary:
  - 1 of 6 pieces of art by Steve Brudniak.
  - Dimensions: 4.75″ x 9″ x 1″
  - Contains a sample of the “Blood of Darkstarr”.
  - Materials: Bakelite, Copper, Mirrored Glass, Glass, Nails, “Blood of Darkstarr”.
- Studio Visit:
  - Come see our offices in Austin, Texas.
  - Travel costs not included.
  - Dates to be coordinated and approved by Portalarium.
Digital Items:
- Early Access to Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues Episode 1
- Blood Themed Items:
  - Blood Fountain*
  - Blood Reliquary Home Decoration*
  - Option to have your Player Owned Town Water turn Blood Red*
  - Blood Elemental Pet*
  - /bloodrain emote**
  - Blood Red Darkstarr Cape*
- Kobold Tax Free POT Castle Bundle
  - Tax Free Player Owned Town Castle Lot Deed**
  - Kobold 4-Story Great Hall City Home
  - 2-Story Basement City Sized Basement
  - 35 Gold Crowns of the Obsidians
  - Pick 12 Prosperity Tools
  - Kobold Mask
  - Kobold Fighter Mask
  - Kobold Archer Mask
  - Kobold Mage Mask
  - Ornate Metal Pipe**
  - Pick 12 Obsidian Potions
  - Kobold Ornate Steam Radiator
  - Aether Vibration Amplifier Console
  - Kobold Red Velvet Nailheads Bench
  - Kobold Tiled Square Dining Table
  - Ornate Iron Wall Light 3-Pack
  - Ornate Rusted Iron Fence
  - Kobold Wind Power Generator
  - Kobold Spiked Streetlamp 6-Pack
  - Stone Kobold Statue
  - Radiant Energy Coil
  - Kobold Ornate Four Poster Twin Bed
  - Capacitor
  - Kobold Corkscrew Wind Power Generator
  - Pet: Blackened Metal Clockwork Dog*
  - Access to Dev+ section of Forums
  - Player Vendor
  - 500 Bank Slots
  - Pick 4 Expert Crafting Stations

* These items will be available in an upcoming Release
** These items will be available in Release 32, July 28, 2016
All other digital items included in this bundle are immediately available in-game

News about the Blood Reliquaries

The reliquaries have caused some debate and discussion both on the SotA Forums but on other websites as well, especially on if it was in good taste. Something as unusual as the making of these Blood Reliquaries has garnered a lot of attention from News sites , including arstechnica, GameSpot, and Digital Trends. Here are links:

GameSpot: Game Developer Selling His Own Blood on eBay

Digital Trends: ‘Ultima’ creator Richard Garriott spills – and sells – his blood to promote upcoming game

MMORPG.com: Shroud of the Avatar News – Selling Lord British’s Blood to Raise Funds is a Thing….

MCV: The Market for Computers & Video Games: Richard Garriott is selling some of his blood on eBay because… erm?

arstechnica: Finally, you can buy Richard Garriott’s blood

Rock, Paper, Shotgun!:You Can Buy Richard Garriott’s Blood For $5000

MMOs.com: Lord British Selling His Blood For Shroud of the Avatar

Eurogamer.net: Richard Garriott selling vials of his blood on eBay: Can we make black pudding out of it?

Kotaku.uk: Richard Garriott is Literally Selling His Blood on Ebay

The Escapist: You Can Now Buy the Blood of Richard Garriott on Ebay

ONRPG: Do You Want Lord British’s Blood?

Existential Gamer: Richard Garriott is Selling His Actual, Literal Blood

Massively OP: Richard Garriott and Starr Long Are Literally Selling Their Blood For Shroud of the Avatar

The Re-Making of Spite

Spite started as another cloned scene using one of our PRT / POT templates based off of the Forest 01 base template . It is getting a complete rebuild from scratch this release and will go live with Release 32. Note that scenes that they unclone after the Final Wipe will NOT get this level of rework, and building placements and lot placements in those towns will remain unchanged; only cosmetic changes of building styles, terrain, and foliage will be made.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldivar]

Hello guys, SorcerousSteve here to give you an update on my current work in progress!

We have started the process of going back into cloned scenes and uncloning them, and the first one on my list is the town of Spite. Since we get to work on this town before Final Wipe, we get to completely rework the scene and we can move player lots all over the place.

Note that this will NOT happen in towns we unclone after Final Wipe. Those lots will stay in their positions as claimed. Only NPC buildings/areas and the overall surrounding scenery will change in those post Wipe uncloned scenes.

The town of Spite as some of you may know is located at the edge of Stormwater Lake, across from Malice beneath the shadow of the rugged peaks, The Sirens.

I’ve acquired inspiration for the town from looking at European towns built on seaside cliffs and the rugged coasts of the American Northwest.

I really wanted to push the envelope on cities built on multiple levels of elevation. From this idea came the town of Spite which has been built on top of the treacherous cliffs overlooking Stormwater Lake.

Despite its scenic views, Spite is no joke. The docks are frequently used by the undead to make their way to Malice, which many of you may recall is a major place of congregation for the undead. As the locals well know it is all too common for dense fog to roll in and line the banks.

Plenty of lots take advantage of Spite’s scenic views. Scattered throughout Spite and its surroundings are also waterfalls that cut through the cliffs and drain into Stormwater Lake.

Coffins lie on the docks of Spite ready to be taken to Malice for their burial.

Player housing situated across multiple levels.

Corn fields just outside the town with Spite situated in the background.

Stay tuned for more progress on Spite!

Esteben Zaldivar
Level Designer

Pipe Smoking

The dev team announced the addition of pipe smoking to the game starting in Release 32. If you have a pipe equipped in your right hand and you use the /smoke emote, you will animate smoking and blow smoke into the air. They chose to put the pipe in your right hand to leave room for your drink in your left hand (of course!). There will be three pipes craftable in the game: Clay, Wood, and Metal. There will also be a variety of more ornate and fanciful versions that can be obtained from the Add On Store. The full list of pipes for R32 includes:

Clay
Wood
Metal
Ornate Metal
Ornate Wood
Wooden Skull
Metal Dragon
Wolf Meerschaum
Titan of Truth Meerschaum (coming soon)
Titan of Love Meerschaum (coming soon)
Titan of Courage Meerschaum (coming soon)

Scott “Scottie” Jones elaborated on the process and showed off pictures in a Dev+ Forum Post:

Recently I’ve edged away from scene building in favor of creating a few new assets to go along with some new emotes and behaviors folks can enjoy with their characters! What you see here is a collection of pipes for those who wish to enjoy one with their friends, along with a pint of ale or two (or three,…or four)… Of course, as with most emotes, you can do this almost anywhere!

You’ll find in the row along the top of the image below the three basic type of pipes that you can craft within the game; the standard metal, wooden, and clay pipes. All pipes can be equipped in your right hand and must be equipped in order to use the /smoke emotes. We chose the right hand because that means you can hold a pipe while simultaneously holding a beverage mug in your left hand, thus reveling in both vices at once!

The five pipes along the row at the bottom are the elaborate fanciful metal dragon pipe, the fancy metal pipe, the elaborate fanciful wooden skull pipe, the fancy wooden (calabash) pipe, and the elaborate fanciful meerschaum wolf pipe… All of these five will be available for purchase for those that REALLY want to show off… Plus,…I’m in the middle of working on three more that are patterned after the busts of the titans of Truth, Love, and Courage in the same meerschaum style!

Enjoy! – Scott “Scottie” Jones