Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

• The Making of Valhold (Castle Interior)
• The Halls of Artifice (A Work In Progress)
• The Making of Brittany Fields
• Merchant Outfit Revamp + Fortified Cloth Gloves & Boots

The Making of Valhold (Castle Interior)

This is the continuing update on the progress on Valhold. Valhold is scheduled to go live in Release 30.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Richard “RrMatey” Matey]

Hey guys, I have returned to Valhold after creating the Crypt of the Avatar scene. So the last thing that needs to be completed for Valhold is the interior of the palace. This section of the game is a solo instance and will change depending on the story points of the game. So here are some screenshots of the interior.

The Halls of Artifice (A Work In Progress)

This is the continuing update on the progress on Artifice, scheduled to go live in Release 31.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Scottie Jones]

And so we continue our journey deeper into bowels of Artifice…

Passing beyond the golden doorway that leads from the crumbling throne room causes you to appear in a narrow and oppressively-hot natural passage that issues directly into a noisy chamber blazing with fiery light. The hammering of metal and the constant sound of steam accost you as your skin seems to slowly bake in the furnace-like heat.

As you peer out and down into the large chamber beyond, you are met with a sight both impressive and terrible. From all sides what appears to be molten stone or metal flows in deadly streams from the mouths of carved wyverns as it cascades down angled troughs toward pools of bubbling slag below. Suspended above, large bowls full of human bones wait to be tossed into repositories full of bones, ash, and shining nuggets of ore that lay between the channels of flowing magma. Movement can be seen below as some huge, brawny being can be glimpsed beyond the enormous pipes, toiling at some terrible task.

As you pick your way carefully down the narrow stone steps, you slowly begin to realize that this is where all the lost souls of Artifice eventually come to “rest”. You have descended from the apparent heavens that lured you above as they eventually transformed into the hell that greets you now… The cascading streams of lava seem to actually be composed of a nightmarish molten mixture of all the things you see before you; the ore, the grey ash, and the bones of the dead… What could this place possibly be? And why would it rest at the very heart of Artifice’s glory?

Though the mysterious blacksmith and all the terrible weapons he is forging will eventually be seen here, for now you must be content with moving forward into yet another chamber, found deeper still in this foreboding place. Choosing the larger central path, a staircase can be seen dipping down into the cooler shadows, and yet another golden door glimmers down the hall. Passing thankfully beyond this infernal place, you appear in a corridor that leads into what must be the largest library you have ever seen!

Descending from the middle gallery level and down into the lower halls, hundreds of bookcases can be seen at every turn. If what you see can be believed, you are standing in the legendary Lyceum of Novia! This is the fabled repository of all the world’s knowledge, and it is said that every tome ever written by any hand can be found here… How can the treasures gathered above possibly compare to the apparently infinite wealth of lore arrayed here? One could spend a lifetime perusing the works shelved in this place, and still never read them all…or so it seems. In every direction the halls stretch on and on, and yet you appear to be alone. Should you seek an egress? No skeletons adorn this place, at least… And yet,…what is that distant sound? Is there another soul wandering these stacks? It seems to be footsteps you hear upon the wooden parquet…but then…they resolve into something you begin to recognize… Is that the echoing clip-clop of hooves upon the floor?

Hopefully you’ve found this intriguing…

Scottie ^_^

The Making of Brittany Fields

This is the continuing update on progress on Brittany Fields, a neighborhood of Brittany. Brittany Fields is scheduled to go live in Release 30.

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

SNEAK PEEK: BRITTANY FIELDS

So you didn’t get the lot you always wanted in Brittany (Central)?

Fret not Avatar, as we have started work on the first of four neighborhood areas that will surround Central Brittany. The first of which will be called Brittany Fields and will be located to the Southwest of Central Brittany.

It is an agricultural/pastoral area filled with fertile crops and little streams/gullies crisscrossing its length.

From here we can appreciate a view of Brittany Castle off in the distance. A short walk away from Central Brittany, Brittany Fields offers a peaceful wind-down from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Plenty of player housing lots awaits in Brittany Fields.

Start planning your visit to Brittany Fields today!

Esteben Zaldivar
Level Designer

Merchant Outfit Revamp + Fortified Cloth Gloves & Boots

As part of our rework of the Avatars we are steadily progressing through many of the clothing and armor items to improve their visual quality. We periodically update the progress of this effort.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Fletcher “Skullmuncher34” Kinnear]

New updated Merchant Robes!

Merchant Textures
by fletcherkinnear

New Gloves and Boots for the Fortified Cloth Armor!

Cloth Outfit
by fletcherkinnear