Editing Update of the Avatar/Update 240

<div align="right"><span style="font-size: 1.25em;">[https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?p=75830 Update of the Avatar #240]</span>, posted [[posted_on::August 11th 2017]]</div>
__NOTOC__
==Update of the Avatar #240 – 2017.11.08: Making of Longfall Woods and South Paladis, Post Ep. 1 Plan, R44 Telethon Results, Kickstarter Rewards Update, Free Trial 5 Begins, Community Events, and More!==
Greetings Fellow Avatars!

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

[[Image:golem_transparent_v4.png|right]]
'''The Latest Game Progress'''
*[[#1|Making of Longfall Woods]]
*[[#2|Making of South Paladis Scenes: Middle Downs and South Broken Road (cont)]]
*[[#3|Post Episode 1 Content Plan – Initial Draft]]
'''News Announcements'''
*[[#4|R44 Postmortem Mini-Telethon Results]]
*[[#5|SeedInvest Campaign Success!]]
*[[#6|Status and Priority of Pledge Rewards & Kickstarter Stretch Goals]]
*[[#7|Update on Pre-Placed Keep & Castle Lot Walls]]
*[[#8|Portalarium is Hiring: Sound Designer]]
*[[#9|Free Trial Test #5 (Aug 9-30) is Now Live!]]
*[[#10|DragonCon Schedule: Yet Even More Panels Announced!]]
*[[#11|PAX Dev Schedule is Live!]]
*[[#12|Shroud In the News: Massively Overpowered Needs Advice]]
*[[#13|Weekend Flash Sale: SyndCon, Dragons, and Hot Tubs Oh My!]]
'''Community Updates'''
*[[#14|Upcoming Events Calendar]]
*[[#15|Community Trailer Ends Soon! Deadline Extended]]
*[[#16|Livestream: Etceter Revisited with Scottie]]
*[[#17|Event: Trials of the Avatar PVP Tournament]]
*[[#18|Resources: Players Helping Players]]
*[[#19|Recommended Project to Support: Crowfall]]

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===<span id="1">Making of Longfall Woods</span>===
We are focusing the next few releases on building the lower tier scenes near the cities along the paths of Truth and Courage. Most of these scenes have been clones of other scenes and will now be replaced with completely original scenes. In Release 45 one of these scenes is Longfall Woods which is a heavily forested area near Aerie in the Longfall region.

[https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/the-making-of-longfall-woods.97378/ &#91;A Dev+ Forum Post by Chris “Sea Wolf” Wolf&#93;]

:''Hey folks, today I’ll be sharing some screenshots of Longfall Woods, which is an adventure scene near Blood River. These dark woods draw inspiration from mythical forests such as Fangorn Forest from Lord of the Rings, or The Forbidden Forest from Harry Potter. In the scene, you can find a camp of vigilantes, a spider den, some haunted ruins, and a survivalist family of elves who have been hiding from the vigilantes.<br><br>'''The Woods'''<br><br>[[Image:LFW_01-3.jpg|800px]]<br><br>[[Image:LFW_05.jpg|800px]]<br><br>'''The Vigilante Camp'''<br><br>[[Image:LFW_03.jpg|800px]]<br><br>'''The Ruins'''<br><br>[[Image:LFW_02.jpg|800px]]<br><br>'''The Survivalists Home'''<br><br>[[Image:LFW_04.jpg|800px]]<br><br>'''The Spider Den'''<br><br>[[Image:LFW_06.jpg|800px]]<br><br>As always, feedback is welcome!<br><br>Chris Wolf<br><br>Level Designer''

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===<span id="2">Making of South Paladis Scenes: Middle Downs and South Broken Road</span>===
Another area of significant development for R45 is the South Paladis region, where players can explore the updates scenes of Middle Downs and South Broken Road. Middle Downs is a hilly Tier 1 scene near the mountains with a network of burial mounds and an abandoned village. South Broken Road is a Tier 2 scene comprised of a winding road through the mountain full of various encounters including plunderers and undead.

====Middle Downs====

:''[https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/the-making-of-middle-downs.97081/#post-860217 &#91;From a Dev+ Forum Post by Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldivar&#93;]<br><br>Hey guys! SorcerousSteve here to give you an update on Middle Downs. This week I focused on terrain polish, finishing up the interior of the mounds, and also did some spawning. The Mound of the Sun can be seen below before night time, alongside this there are 4 satellite burial mounds within walking distance nearby…<br><br>[[Image:MiddleDowns_p2_01.jpg|800px]]<br><br>'''Interior of the Drovak Mound:'''<br><br>[[Image:MiddleDowns_p2_02.jpg|800px]]<br><br>'''Ancient cave drawings depicting hunts, fauna, and sun worshiping line the inside of the Mound of the Sun:'''<br><br>[[Image:MiddleDowns_p2_04.jpg|800px]]<br><br>'''The Oldon Mound and its collapsed roof bring in light from the starry sky:'''<br><br>[[Image:MiddleDowns_p2_03.jpg|800px]]<br><br>'''Des Morte Bog cuts through the Middle Downs, a burial mound can be seen on a nearby cliff:'''<br><br>[[Image:MiddleDowns_p2_05.jpg|800px]]<br><br>Hope you guys are looking forward to exploring the burial mounds of the Middle Downs this R45!''

====South Broken Road====

:''[https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/preview-south-broken-road.97120/#post-860172 &#91;From a Dev+ Forum Post by Travis “Vas Corp Por” Koleski&#93;]<br><br>Hi again all! Here are a few more shots as we wrap up progress (for this release) on South Broken Road! Thanks as always for following!<br><br>'''Rolling Farmland (infested with Plunderers):'''<br><br>[[Image:SS_08102017_B.jpg|800px]]<br><br>[[Image:SS_08102017_A.jpg|800px]]<br><br>[[Image:|800px]]<br><br>'''A travelling minstrel makes camp for the evening:'''<br><br>[[Image:SS_08102017_C.jpg|800px]]<br><br>Looking forward to meeting all you travelers along the road!''

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===<span id="3">Post Episode 1 Content Plan – Initial Draft</span>===
[[Image:post_episode1_plan.jpg|800px|link=https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/post-episode-1-content-plans-aka-the-2-year-plan.97521/]]

[[Image:avatar_starr.jpg|150px|left]]
:[https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/post-episode-1-content-plans-aka-the-2-year-plan.97521/ &#91;From a forum post by Starr “Darkstarr” Long&#93;]

:''Greetings Avatars,<br><br>The beauty of being an online game is that we can continue to expand the game well beyond the confines of the launch of our first episode. That means we get to dream big! Here is a first draft of everything we would like to add to the game post launch of Episode 1. Some of these will get included in regular monthly updates (yes we plan to do those forever) while some will be part of future episodes. These are presented in no particular order and some are better explained than others.<br><br>This was formerly known as the “2 Year Plan” (as made famous by my tongue in cheek vocal rendition in the last telethon) but as we continued to add features to it we quickly realized that there was more to this than might fit in just 2 years so we have renamed it to simply “Post Episode 1 Plan”. This also of course includes the plans for further episodes.<br><br>Please note that none of these are committed features and none of these have final designs of any kind. This is just a very early draft that is the result of some quick brainstorms and ideas we accumulated when we are not crazy busy trying to finish Episode 1.<br><br>Enjoy!<br>&nbsp;''
::*'''''Episodes 2 – 5:'''''
:::*''New Land Masses with new adventure areas and new towns per episode''
:::*''New 40+ hour storyline per episode''
:::*''New opportunities to settle Player Owned Towns and Player Owned Lots in the new land masses''
::*'''''Navigable Ships:''' Boats that can move around in water of multiple sizes. This includes boats previously marked as either decorations (ex. Longboat) or homes (ex Pirate Galleon)''
:::*'''''Ship to Ship Combat:''' Be able to shoot cannons and catapults and other ranged weapons between ships''
:::*'''''Sea Monsters:''' Creatures that can be fought at sea either while swimming, from shore, or while on ships.''
:::*'''''Ocean Scenes:''' fully oceanic scenes including random encounters while taking boats between destinations.''
::*'''''Elven Playable Race:''' At character creation players can choose elves as a race. Elves will have slightly different stats than humans and different customization options''
::*'''''Flexible Lot Placement:''' Allows you to put your house wherever you want on your lot, not just the default location.''
::*'''''Player Owned Dungeons:''' Connects to bottom floor of basement or perhaps a placeable Dungeon entrance in a POT. Imagine a much larger basement specifically tailored to be an adventure space vs. a living space.''
:::*'''''Placeable Spawners:''' imagine harvesting spider eggs and then being able to place them in corners for unwary visitors''
:::*'''''Placeable Traps:''' imagine crafting an exploding chest!''
::*'''''Wildlife Scaling in Town Scenes:''' As population in town rises the amount of wildlife decreases.''
::*'''''Integrate Discord into Game:'''''
:::*''Voice chat channels for Party, Guild, Town''
:::*''Option to use discord in game''
::*'''''True First Person:''' with visible hands/weapons''
:::*'''''Limited VR Support:''' Not a full VR conversion, just support for stereo rendering to enhance first person mode''
::*'''''Console / Controller Support:''' Expand beyond computers to consoles including full support for playing with a controller. Because we are using the Unity engine and we are scene based this is not as challenging as it might be otherwise. The biggest issue is reconfiguring the interface to work with a controller. Plans would be to expand to at least XBox One and PS4.''
::*'''''Map Improvements:'''''
:::*'''''Notes on Maps:''' Ability to annotate maps''
:::*'''''Fog of War:''' Hide where you haven’t been''
::*'''''Character Customization:''' More facial features, tattoos, scars, face types, body types''
::*'''''Animal husbandry:''' An expansion of Agriculture to raise animals including chickens, pigs, cows, and sheep (and maybe more!)''
::*'''''Companion Mobile App:''' A companion app that allows direct interaction with a selection of game features including the following:''
:::*''Vendor Controls''
:::*''Crafting''
:::*''Chat''
:::*''Maps''
:::*''Mail''
:::*''Player to Player Trade''
:::*''Rent & Taxes''
:::*''Town/Lot Management''
::*'''''Rent Automatic Payments:''' Ability to set and collect automatic payments with tenants''
::*'''''Pack Animals:''' Pets that are mobile containers. Mules, Llamas, Camels''
::*'''''Mounts:''' Slightly faster than running, perhaps less drain on focus.''
:::*'''''Mounted Combat:''' Expansion of mount system to allow fighting while mounted.''
::*'''''Underwater Swimming:''' Ability to swim under water''
::*'''''Lot Trading:'' Ability to securely trade lots between players in-game with option to include the currently placed house and basement as well.''
::*'''''Crafting:'''''
:::*'''''Interactive Crafting:''' Explosions, Mini-games,''
:::*'''''Decoration Color changes via Materials / Dyes:''' Change the color of decorations either through different materials (ex. Different wood types) or dyes (ex. Cushions on a couch)''
:::*''More Skills''
:::*''More Recipes''
:::*''More Patterns''
:::*''Tree Visual Variations''
:::*''More materials to craft with''
:::*''More enchantments and masterwork effects''
::*'''''Place Items Anywhere:''' with timers and limits (per user & per scene)''
::*'''''Climbable Ladders/Ropes/Chains/etc:''' With actual animations''
::*'''''More POT Templates:'''''
:::*'''''Urban:''' Denser city style template''
:::*'''''Underground:''' more variants''
:::*'''''Mountain Port City'''
:::*'''''Floating City:''' Built in the style of Isle of Storms''
::*'''''Expanded Quests'''''
:::*''More side quests''
:::*''Daily quest system''
:::*''More tools to allow player created quests in game''
::*'''''Expand Vendor System'''''
:::*''Expand purchase order system''
:::*''More detailed permissions and controls: being able to remove single items, set limits for specific people, etc.''
::*'''''Customizable Convos for Vendors/POT NPCs/Servants:''' Build custom conversations for your NPCs''
::*'''''Expanded Item / Container Permissions:''' Add a lot more customizable rules and permissions to items and containers (ex Only Take 1, Only Put 1, open only X times, open only during these hours, etc.)''
::*'''''Guild vs. Guild Warfare Improvements:'''''
:::*''Minimum Size Requirement''
:::*''Limited to just the guilds involved (i.e. a big duel)''
:::*''Set Win Conditions / Place Bets / Set time limits''
:::*''Guild Warfare locations''
::*'''''Companions / Hirelings / Mercenaries Improvements'''''
:::*'''''Customizable Companions / Hirelings:''' Give them gear to use''
:::*'''''Companions / Hirelings in Online Mode:''' Blocks summons for balance purposes?''
::*'''''LFG system'''''
:::*''Register at a lunar rift and allow optionally setting of preferred party role (healer, tank, dps), scene type (PVP, dungeon, outdoor), play duration (0-1hour, 1-4 hours, 4+ hours).  Show name as color coded using monster rules (more than 40 levels below = green, etc)''
::*'''''Raid groups:''' Party of Parties''
:::*''Up to 8 groups of 8''
:::*''All in raid share a /raid channel''
:::*''Those in raid behave as if they are in the same party for rules governing friendly effects.  So no damaging each other if PVP, players can heal/buffs others in raid''
:::*''UI for viewing raid members.''
::*'''''Tamed Pet leveling'''''
:::*''Gain a bonus based on how much experience you’ve gained while they are summoned''
:::*''Lose % of experience on res''
:::*''Gain bonuses to stats, level based on how many experience they have''
::*'''''PVP Improvements'''''
:::*''Level balanced PVP scenes (all players are set to same level and max skills caped) (R45)''
:::*''Ransom system improvements (larger ransom options)''
:::*''Thief system for low risk PVP for casuals''
:::*''Duel with wager: Player to player trade like interface, put up items, both agree to start duel, winner takes all.''
::*'''''Siege/Defense Scenarios for PVE & PVP'''''
:::*''Goal based challenges''
:::*''Teams split by guild/party/virtue''
:::*''Rewards through title, virtue, items, consumables, buffs, and skill unlocks''
::*'''''Temporary Title system:'''
:::*''Allows for players to gain titles but only for a fixed amount of time''
:::*''Opens up options for temp titles from being the guy who got the killing blow on a boss, winner of a tournament, getting more than X PVP kills in some amount of time, etc''
::*'''''Item History and Leveling'''''
:::*''Track small category of stats per weapon (Killing blows, largest single hit, total damage done, kills by small set of categories)''
:::*''Small bonuses granted based on achievements in various categories''
::*'''''New Creatures:''' We plan to steadily add new creatures including more that can be tamed. The below list is just a sample of ideas. We also plan to continue improving AI and visuals of existing creatures.  Troll should be considered the minimum baseline for a normal AI.''
:::*'''''Wild Boar'''''
:::*'''''Drakes:''' small tameable dragons''
:::*'''''Hydra:''' Lots of heads, lots of attacks, avoid the business end and be sure not to make more heads for it!''
:::*'''''Doppelganger:''' Looks like and gains many attributes of players in scene''
:::*'''''Wendigo:''' Every point of damage it does makes it more stronger as it consumes your life''
:::*'''''Yeti:''' Snow troll. Think troll with ice magic that uses stealth''
:::*'''''Landvaettir:''' Powerful spirits that guard powerful resource nodes.''
:::*'''''Emela-ntouka:''' Massive rhino like creature, paralyzing growl, and incredibly dangerous straight line attack so don’t stand in the open!''
:::*'''''Door Mimic:''' Sticky handle = long root''
:::*'''''More Clockwork Creatures:''' Can be looted for clockwork parts''
:::*'''''Smoke Panther:''' Lives in darkness, stealth, bleeding attacks, and cancels friendly buffs.''
:::*'''''Multiple new bosses:''' Not named here for secrecy reasons''
::*'''''Combat:'''''
:::*''Rework animation state machine to allow for smoother animation transitions''
:::*''Weapon type vs armor type: Impact/Cutting/Piercing vs Cloth/Leather/Chain/Plate breakdown''
:::*''Combos with Heat system''
:::*''Stacking equivalent with Heat system (R45)''
:::*''Expand combo system to include at least 5 combos for each school and combos of combos''
:::*''More refinement on the current resistance system''
:::*''Ammunition types''
:::*'''''More Ranged Weapons:''' Flamethrower, Tesla Gun, Gas Gun, Blunderbuss, Net Gun, etc''
::*'''''UI Overhaul'''''
:::*''Everything detachable and movable on screen''
:::*''Chat as separate windows from game window''
::*'''''Lua Scripting'''''
:::*''Expose limited set of functionality to Lua scripting for player added features''
:::*''Expose simp''
::*'''''Repeatable Puzzle Based Quests/Unlocks'''
:::*''Mastermind like puzzle mechanics to fix items, complete quests, unlock highly desirable game features (Blood Bay Housing?)''
:::*''Scale in difficulty due to number of elements, difficult to acquire elements, and destructibility of the elements''
::*'''''More POT and House Decoration Tools:''' More tools and polish to the ability to place decorations in homes and Player Owned Towns''
:::*''Align to adjacent lot''
:::*''Snap to Grid''
:::*''Multi-Select and Multi-Move''
:::*''Fencing Tools: Snapping together automatically and selecting complete sets to surround your lot.''
:::*''Water lots fully water based''
:::*''Water lots on docks''
:::*''Toggle “View all Lot Markers & Lot Boundaries”''
:::*''Ability to rename teleporter signs''
::*'''''Skills'''
:::*''Expand existing combat and magic trees''
:::*''Add tier 5 and 6 options for all spell trees''
:''&nbsp;<br>The list is also posted [https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/post-episode-1-content-plans-aka-the-2-year-plan.97521/ in the forums]. If you do not see a feature that you hoped you would then please feel free to suggest it in the forums and we will consider adding it to the plan.<br><br>Enjoy!<br><br>Starr Long<br>Executive Producer''

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===<span id="4">R44 Postmortem Mini-Telethon Results</span>===
[[Image:r44_postmortem_minitelethon_oracle.jpg|800px|link=https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?p=75252]]

{{#Widget:YouTube|id=YWOxAgGCLns|width=800}}

Our Release 44 Postmortem Mini-Telethon was a huge success and we achieved lots of our Stretch Goal Rewards! A heartfelt thank you from the entire Dev Team to all of you, our backers, that have contributed to the development funding of Shroud of the Avatar. Monday’s Telethon was yet another example of your amazing support and contributions!

The total as of 07:00 PM CDT, August 7th, was an amazing:

<p style="color: #c8754e;font-size: xx-large;text-align: center">** $67,500 **</p>

As promised, Telethon Funding Stretch Goal Rewards will be rewarded to any backers that pledged a minimum of $5 from 12:00 PM CDT to Midnight August 7th (Spending Store Credit to make $5 minimum purchase does not apply). These rewards should show up on your account page within the next couple of weeks and will begin showing up in the game over the next few releases starting as soon as Release 46.

[[Image:Oracle-Eye-Helmet-1.png|150px|right]]
* <span style="color: #c8754e;font-size: large;">Achieved!</span> '''$10,000:''' Oracle Eye Sparklers
* <span style="color: #c8754e;font-size: large;">Achieved!</span> '''$25,000:''' Oracle Eye Mirror: Home decoration with the Oracle Eye on top
* <span style="color: #c8754e;font-size: large;">Achieved!</span> '''$35,000:''' Oracle Eye Helmet: Fencing Mask with Oracle Eye painted on mesh like the Obsidian Cabalist masks
* <span style="color: #c8754e;font-size: large;">Achieved!</span> '''$50,000:''' Oracle Eye Throne
* <span style="color: #c8754e;font-size: large;">Achieved!</span> '''$65,000:''' Oracle Cable “Wings” + /juggleoracleeyes
* '''$80,000:''' Oracle Eye & Cable Version of Moondial

NOTE: We stopped tracking towards stretch goals at the end of the telethon at 7:00 PM CDT.

We had deep dives, answered questions, danced, sang, did shots, spun the Wheel of Fortune & Doom, had flash sales, and handed out tons of prizes!

Did you not get your question answered? Fret not! Starr “Darkstarr” Long (with help from the rest of the team) will answer all the questions that we did not have time to answer during the telethon and post them in the forums early next week!

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===<span id="5">SeedInvest Campaign Success! </span>===
[[Image:Equity_Banner.jpg|250px|right|link=https://www.seedinvest.com/portalarium/series.b]]
Our SeedInvest Campaign to raise funds to self-publish Shroud of the Avatar in North America was a huge success and we well surpassed our minimum target!

'''If you have not had your funds move through to escrow please contact [https://www.seedinvest.com/portalarium/series.b SeedInvest] immediately so they can assist you.'''

Thank you Avatars!<br>''Lord British and the Portalarium Team''

''<nowiki>*</nowiki>Disclaimer: Portalarium is offering securities under Regulation CF and Rule 506(c) of Regulation D through SI Securities, LLC (“SI Securities”). The Company has filed a Form C with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its offering, a copy of which may be obtained here: [https://www.seedinvest.com/portalarium/series.b https://www.seedinvest.com/portalarium/series.b]''

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===<span id="6">Status and Priority of Pledge Rewards & Kickstarter Stretch Goals</span>===
[[Image:avatar_starr.jpg|150px|left]]
:[https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/status-and-priority-of-pledge-rewards-kickstarter-stretch-goals-and-other-items.97389/ &#91;From a forum post by Starr “Darkstarr” Long&#93;]<br><br>''Recently some of you requested updates on the status of Pledge Rewards and Kickstarter Stretch Goals that have not yet been delivered. The good news is we have delivered almost all of them so the undelivered list is thankfully short. Yesterday during the R44 Postmortem I provided a brief update on the status of these items which I am documenting here in this post.<br><br>When we started the Kickstarter we were still designing the game and many systems were still in flux. Now that we are nearing completion there are a couple of items that no longer make sense so we are going to retire them. It is worth noting that we have added at least 5-10 items per pledge since the Kickstarter, not to mention the tons of new features and content we have also added to the game. With that said we understand that those new items and new content were not specifically noted as replacements for these retired items so we will be creating two new rewards to replace the retired items. We will update everyone as soon as we know what these replacement rewards will be.<br><br>'''Retired Items:'''''
::*'''''2 Week Skill Head Start:''' This would have serious balance implications and would only enrage players who did not have access to it.''
::*'''''Pick Last Name Early:''' This simply does not work at all with our current naming system.''
:''The remaining items can be broken down into 3 priorities which will determine the order that we work on them. This order is based on other system dependencies, lead times, resource availability, partner commitments, and overall impact to the entire audience.''
::'''''Priority 1:'''''
:::*''Multiple Characters on Single Account''
:::*''Localization (non-Asian languages)''
:::*''Physical Goods: Cloth Map, Box, Trinket, Signed Deed, Coin, etc.''
::'''''Priority 2:'''''
:::*''Alcohol/Brewing (for German Beer Recipe reward)''
:::*''Names on Tombstones / Domesday Book / Credits Page: requires a way for players to select what name to display so we will be adding a name entry function to the account page''
::'''''Priority 3:'''''
:::*''Fyndoro’s Tablet of Finding''
:::*''Puzzle Box''
:::*''Theater System''
:::*''Castle Defense Scenarios / Castle Types / Castle Merchants''
:::*''Shipping Lanes aka Boat Schedules, Random Boat Encounter Scenes''
:::*''Heraldry aka Custom Family Crests for players and Guilds''
:::*''Custom Duke/LotM Heads''
:::*''PDF of Design Docs''
:::*''Custom Static POTs''

<hr style="margin: 2em 0 2em 0;">
===<span id="7">Update on Pre-Placed Keep & Castle Lot Walls</span>===
[[Image:avatar_starr.jpg|150px|left]]
:[https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/tear-down-the-walls-update-on-pre-placed-keep-castle-lot-walls.97516/ &#91;From a forum post by Starr “Darkstarr” Long&#93;]<br><br>''Greetings Avatars,<br><br>When we originally created the Duke and Lord of the Manor pledges, we provided descriptions and screenshots that described keeps with castle walls. At first, these walls were pre-placed in the world and therefore offered no option for the owners of these lots to change the walls to other types, nor remove them. Later, we created wall kits that could be placed by players in pieces as decorations. These allowed players to place walls in any configuration they chose and to pick from different types. Once we had created these wall kits, we added a complete set to each Duke and Lord of the Manor pledge, and then removed the pre-placed walls from all scenes where they were before.<br><br>Our belief at that time was that everyone would be quite happy with this change because now they had the option to choose whether they wanted the walls or not (or even pick different wall types through purchase or crafting). However, we were surprised to find out that there were many Dukes and Lords of the Manor who were quite displeased with this change and demanded that we place the walls back. Reluctantly, we relented and put the walls back (except in Dynamic Player Owned Towns, where Keep and Castle lots were kept “wall free”).<br><br>Fast forward to earlier this year, Dukes and Lords of the Manor demanded that we revisit this conversation and held a poll in the forums which overwhelmingly supported the removal of the walls (again). We were happily surprised at the outcome of this poll and so we are once again removing the pre-placed walls. This change will occur as soon as Release 45 (but might slip to R46).<br><br>In support of this change, we will also address a long standing issue with walls and fences so that they now cull at the same distance as houses. This means they will no longer disappear off-screen before the house itself does!<br><br>NOTE: If any Duke or Lord of the Manor requires assistance with placing walls around his or her lot, there are several players who offer decoration services, and we will be glad to direct you to them. Feel free to contact us at support@portalarium.com and we can assist you!''

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===<span id="8">Portalarium is Hiring: Sound Designer</span>===
[[Image:SotA_WorldBuilding.jpg|800px]]

We currently have an opening for a Sound Designer for Shroud of the Avatar. Qualifications for the “ideal candidate” are:

*Minimum 5 years industry experience (minimum of at least 1 shipped game)
*Unity development experience
*Ability to create and modify Sound Effects (SFX) for a variety of game events (combat, environment, social, etc.)
*Ability to connect SFX to game events (animations, interactive objects, particles, etc.)
*Experience using Source Control (Perforce, SVN, CVS, etc.)
*Ability to record Voice Overs
*BONUS SKILLS (any one or more of these):
:*Ability to make and edit videos
:*Avid game player
:*MMO game development experience

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), including actual game play, videos footage, and document form (images, maps, and event descriptions).

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===<span id="9">Free Trial Test #5 (Aug 9-30) is Now Live! </span>===
[[Image:Free-Trial.png|125px|right]]
Free Trial Test #5 is now live and will run from August 9th thru the 30th. As with our previous tests this will let us continue to gather data about uptake, drop-off, conversions, etc. These tests are invaluable for us in order to improve the New User Experience and the Free Trial System.

Free Trial access allows you to play the entire game in any of the Online modes with a few key differences in game play. You will be able to explore hundreds of scenes, talk with thousands of players, adventure through the opening quests, and gain experience and skills as you get used to the world of New Britannia!

[https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=69568 Join us] in New Britannia for free!

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===<span id="10">Shroud at Dragon Con: Yet Even More Panels Announced!</span>===
[[Image:dragoncon_logo.jpg|300px|right]]
[http://www.dragoncon.org/ Dragon Con] has announced yet even more talks (marked in italics below) now with [http://www.dragoncon.org/?q=space_track Space Track] talks added to the mix. We now go to 11!

* '''Friday Sept 1:''' 10:00 AM EDT
:* '''Future of Video Gaming:''' What’s next in video games? What new technologies are on the horizon and who’s making it happen?
:* '''Panelists:''' Starr Long
:* '''Location:''' Augusta E-G – Westin
* '''Friday Sept 1:''' 01:00 PM EDT
:* '''Androids and Automatons:''' This presentation will cover the history of artificial life from the ancient Greeks to modern automata artists. Techniques for creating your own automata will also be shared.
:* '''Panelists:''' Brett King, Richard Lord British Garriott de Cayeux, Anthony Francis
:* '''Location:''' Augusta – Sheraton
* '''''NEW! Friday Sept 1:''' 04:00 PM EDT''
:* '''''How to Write the Game Everybody Wants:''' TBD''
:* '''''Panelists:''' Richard Lord British Garriott de Cayeux, TBD''
:* '''''Location:''' International North – Hyatt''
* '''Friday Sept 1:''' 05:30 PM EDT
:* '''An Hour with Lord British:''' A deeper dive into the past and future adventures of Lord British covering subjects like the Ultima franchise, space travel, deep sea exploration, IP development, and game design principles. There will also be a discussion of Richard’s new book, “Explore and Create”
:* '''Panelists:''' Richard Lord British Garriott de Cayeux, Jason Gonding
:* '''Location:''' Augusta B-D – Westin
* '''''NEW! Friday Sept 1:''' 07:00 PM EDT''
:* '''''Space Tourism:''' Private Access Needs Private Destinations: Commercial space launches for private citizens are not far in the future but where are they going to go? Russia can give access to their section of the ISS but not something they will do unless they are paid for bringing that person up. Not happening these days so what’s left?''
:* '''''Panelists:''' Richard Lord British Garriott de Cayeux''
:* '''''Location:''' 212-213 – Hilton''
* '''''NEW! Saturday Sept 2:''' 11:30 AM EDT''
:* '''''Behind the Scenes of Commercial Space:''' Rocket launches seem to get all the news regarding commercial space but that encompasses just a few big name companies. Many smaller companies lay behind the scenes pushing forward the needs for commercial space and what makes it go.''
:* '''''Panelists:''' Richard Lord British Garriott de Cayeux, A.C. Charania, Sam Ortega, David J. Hewitt, Andy Dykes, Laura Seward Forczyk''
:* '''''Location:''' 212-213 – Hilton''
* '''''NEW! Saturday Sept 2:''' 02:30 PM EDT''
:* '''''World Building 101:''' TBD''
:* '''''Panelists:''' Richard Lord British Garriott de Cayeux, TBD''
:* '''''Location:''' Centennial I – Hyatt''
* '''''NEW! Sunday Sept 3:''' 10:00 AM EDT''
:* '''''Living & Working on the ISS:''' Being in the Space Station is cool! Flying through the modules in zero gravity, ask anyone who’s been there – they’d do it again! But it’s not always easy & if you’re there you’ve got work to do!''
:* '''''Panelists:''' Richard Lord British Garriott de Cayeux, Garrett Reisman, Rebecca Kim''
:* '''''Location:''' Grand East – Hilton''
* '''Sunday Sept 3:''' 01:00 PM EDT
:* '''Shroud of the Avatar Q&A:''' Lord British will provide a development update and host an open Q&A on the current status of his latest project.
:* '''Panelists:''' Starr Long, Richard Lord British Garriott de Cayeux
:* '''Location:''' Augusta B-D – Westin
* '''Sunday Sept 3:''' 07:00 PM EDT
:* '''Avoiding Tropes and Stereotypes:''' Panelists will identify common pitfalls that lead to boring plot lines and unoriginal characters and discuss ways to avoid them.
:* '''Panelists:''' Alison Carrier, Starr Long, David Haddock
:* '''Location:''' Augusta E-G – Westin
* '''Monday Sept 4:''' 10:00 AM EDT
:* '''Crowdfunding – How to Successfully Kickstart Your Game:''' Join industry professionals who have successfully kickstarted games in a discussion on what worked and didn’t work for them, followed by Q&A.
:* '''Panelists:''' Starr Long, David Haddock, Mark Jacobs
:* '''Location:''' Augusta B-D – Westin

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===<span id="11">PAX Dev Schedule is live!</span>===
[[Image:pax-dev.png|300px|right|link=http://dev.paxsite.com/]]
The schedule for PAX Dev is now live on their website and Starr “Darkstarr” Long’s talk: [http://dev.paxsite.com/schedule/panel/evolution-of-crowdsharing-sourcing-funding-and-equity ‘Evolution of Crowdsharing: Sourcing, Funding, and Equity’] will be at '''11:45 AM PDT on August 30 in the Fifth Avenue Room in the Westin Seattle Hotel''':

''Working with communities has expanded beyond a mere feedback loop between developers and players. In the last decade this relationship has formalized with the growth of Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and marketplaces like the Unity Asset Store. Most recently communities can even gain ownership via equity platforms like Seed Invest. Using projects like Shroud of the Avatar, 25 year game veteran Starr Long will describe this evolution of Crowdsharing and share techniques.''

If you’re in the Seattle area next month, swing by [http://dev.paxsite.com/ PAX Dev] to meet Starr!

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===<span id="12">Shroud in the News: Massively Overpowered Needs Advice</span>===
[[Image:massivelyop-logo_640.png|250px|right|link=http://massivelyop.com/2017/08/10/choose-my-adventure-starting-completely-fresh-in-shroud-of-the-avatar/]]
:'''“I am turning to you readers for guidance because I have no idea where I’m supposed to be going, and I’m still figuring out what anything is supposed to be.<br><br>The bright side of character creation is that you don’t really have to choose a class or anything; you choose your appearance and your name and then you get into the action. I can respect that. What is a bit of a problem is that I don’t actually know what to expect from the mechanics of the game.<br><br>So tell me, readers, especially those who have played the game already. Which one should I go with ahead of time?” – Eliot Lefebvre, MassivelyOP''

Visit [http://massivelyop.com/2017/08/10/choose-my-adventure-starting-completely-fresh-in-shroud-of-the-avatar/ MassivelyOp.com] to help Eliot decide!

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===<span id="13">Weekend Flash Sale: SyndCon, Dragons, and Hot Tubs Oh My!</span>===
[[Image:flash_syndcon.jpg|800px|link=https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=9085]]

This weekend is The Syndicate’s annual convention, Syndcon, here in Austin. The Syndicate formed during Ultima Online’s testing and are the oldest continuously running guild in the world and even have a Guinness world record! Our selection of sales items this week are in honor of Syndcon and are themed around dragons (their leader’s handle is Dragon and their guild town is Arx Draconis), games (lots of board gaming during the convention), music (in honor of their karaoke night) and other social activities (like hot tubs and drinking).

Get a look at the items on sale below. You can also view each item individually in the Add-On Store:

[[Image:SotA_Dragon_Mask_view1.jpg|250px|right]]
*[[Tabletop Stone Dragon Statue]]
*[[Topiary Village Dragon Statue]]
*[[Topiary Town Dragon Statue]]
*[[Topiary City Dragon Statue]]
*[[Topiary Keep Dragon Statue]]
*[[Stone Dragon Statue Village Size]]
*[[Stone Dragon Statue Town Size]]
*[[Stone Dragon Statue City Size]]
*[[Stone Dragon Statue Keep Size]]
*[[Dragon Mask]]
*[[Ornate Metal Dragon Pipe]]
*[[Dragon Handle Maplewood Cane]]
*[[Shroud of the Avatar Soundtrack Volume 2 - Wax Cylinders|Shroud of the Avatar Soundtrack Volume 2 – Wax Cylinders]]
*[[Shroud of the Avatar Soundtrack Volume 3 - Wax Cylinders|Shroud of the Avatar Soundtrack Volume 3 – Wax Cylinders]]
[[Image:SotA_DragonStatue_town.jpg|250px|right]]
*[[Ornate Metal Phonograph]]
*[[Aether Vibration Amplifier Console]]
*[[Ornate Automated 16-Cylinder Phonograph]]
*[[Automated 8-Cylinder Phonograph]]
*[[Ornate Grand Piano]]
*[[Ornate Red & Gold Filigree Harpsichord]]
*[[Ornate Kettle Drum]]
*[[Large Ornate Cordovan Harp]]
*[[Cordovan Maple Inlaid Drum]]
*[[Cordovan Harp]]
*[[Cordovan Lute]]
*[[Cordovan Flute]]
*[[Umber Upright Piano]]
*[[5-Piece One-Man Band]]
*[[Cordovan Ornate Street Organ]]
[[Image:sota_ornate_grand_piano.jpg|250px|right]]
*[[Umber Ornate Accordion]]
*[[Ornate Bagpipes]]
*[[Puke & Drunk Emotes]]
*[[Tabletop Chess Set]]
*[[Chess Set]]
*[[Tabletop Checkers Set]]
*[[Checkers Set]]
*[[Ornate Gustball Field]]
*[[Ornate Tile Hot Tub]]
*[[Ornate Wooden Hot Tub]]
*[[Tavern Sign 9-Pack]]

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===<span id="14">Upcoming Events Calendar</span>===
'''Aug 9 – 30, 2017''' – Free Trial 5<br>
'''Aug 10 – 14, 2017''' – [http://www.llts.org/ Syndcon (Austin)]<br>
'''Aug 24 – 25, 2017''' – [http://www.gamescom-cologne.com/gamescom/index-9.php Gamescom (Cologne)]<br>
'''Aug 29-30, 2017''' – [http://dev.paxsite.com/ PAX Dev Panel]<br>
'''Aug 31, 2017''' – [[Release 45]]<br>
'''Sept 1 – 4, 2017''' – [http://www.dragoncon.org/ Dragon Con]<br>
'''Sept 22 – 23, 2017''' – [https://uo.com/20th-anniversary-party/ Ultima Online 20th Anniversary Party]<br>
'''Sept 28, 2017''' – [[Release 46]]<br>
'''Sept 29 – Oct 1, 2017''' – [http://igromir-expo.com/ IgroMir Expo (Moscow)]<br>
'''Oct 13 – 15, 2017''' – [https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/sota-con-austin-2017-oct-13-15-2017.70799/ SotA Con 2017 (Austin)]<br>
'''Oct 26, 2017''' – [[Release 47]]

Visit the official [https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=35475 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 [https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?forums/release-32-beyond-events.582/ Release Events thread] in the SotA forums for additional events.

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===<span id="15">Community Trailer Ends Soon! Deadline Extended</span>===
[[Image:contest_trailers_2017.jpg|800px|link=https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/%E2%80%98welcome-to-new-britannia%E2%80%99-community-trailer-contest.94772/]]

Get those eye popping video ideas ready, Avatars! Like last year’s trailer design contest, this is your chance to show that Shroud of the Avatar is both the game and community that new players will want to play to launch and beyond.

The ‘Welcome to New Britannia’ Community Trailer Contest is in full swing!

You have from July 13, 2017 to August 18 22, 2017 (11:59 PM CT) to design a video trailer for all New Britannians to admire. Capture shots of key city districts, bustling player-owned towns, luxurious houses, intense combat, majestic outdoor scenes, crafting of valuable goods, or any of the other amazing features of our game that you think will help sell the game to other players.

[https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/%E2%80%98welcome-to-new-britannia%E2%80%99-community-trailer-contest.94772/ &#91;Read More…&#93;]

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===<span id="16">Livestream: Etceter Revisited with Scottie</span>===
Scott “Scottie” Jones, Senior Environmental Artist, came back on the livestream this Friday to show you more of his latest design work of the Etceter scene!

{{#Widget:YouTube|id=sEnfN5ySMfI|width=800}}

SPOILERS: Though little has changed near the common entrance into the scene, passing through the town will eventually lead to the primary crossroads, where the port-side commerce and housing district (seen on the right) gives way to the richer estates that once belonged to the wealthiest privateers (seen up the rise of the hill to the left) who made their fortunes when the Etceter Crag Mines were at the height of production! From here we can get a better view of some of the newest points of interest I’ve added. – Scottie

For more about Etceter, check out Scottie’s recent Dev+ blog update in the forums. Not a Dev+ member? You can either get access through Bundles in the store, or check out excerpts of his blog on any of the Weekly Updates.

For more livestreams, be sure to subscribe to [http://www.youtube.com/portalarium www.youtube.com/portalarium]

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===<span id="17">Trials of the Avatar PVP Tournament – Sunday at 3pm CT</span>===
[[Image:trialsoftheavatar.jpg|800px|link=https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/trials-of-the-avatars-beginning-of-a-new-era.96960/]]

''Adventurers from Novia, this is a beginning of a new era for Shroud of the Avatar! I’m proud to present you Trials of the Avatar – a series of challenges for all pvp and pvm lovers which will make our way of playing dynamic and less boring.''

''The Trial of Truth will bring to life a chain of 1vs1 elimination PvP battle for an honorable prize for the winner of every class. The participants fight in pairs; the order of the fights is decided by each participant rolling a random number. As there are for example eight participants, the tournament has three levels: quarter-finals (4 fights), semi-finals (2 fights), and the final fight.''

''Check our site’s calendar to be updated on all scheduled events! [http://trialsoftheavatar.shivtr.com/ http://trialsoftheavatar.shivtr.com/]''

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===<span id="18">Resources – Players Helping Players</span>===
[[Image:SotA_NewPlayerWelcome_Forum.jpg|250px|right]]

The official SotA [https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?forums/new-player-welcome.611/ New Player Welcome Forum] and the [https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?forums/player-created-resources.486/ 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 [https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=59279 Community Resources page] for a complete listing of all things community.

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===<span id="19">Recommended Project to Support – [http://crowfall.com/ Crowfall]</span>===
[[Image:crowfall_logo.jpg|250px|right|link=http://crowfall.com/]]
Crowfall is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), a game that is played online in a persistent, shared environment with thousands (and thousands, and thousands…) of other players.

In this ‘Throne War Simulator’, characters are persistent but the campaign worlds are not, thanks to voxel tech which enables fully-destructible settings. A seamless blend of an MMO with a large-scale strategy game, players are immortal champions, traveling between realms to fight in an eternal War of the Gods.

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===Backer Shipping Addresses===
[[Image:SotA_ShippingAddress.png|250px|right]]
In preparation for shipping backers’ physical pledge rewards later this year, we have added Shipping Address fields to your [https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=4557 Account Profile] page. To enter your shipping address, log in to the SotA website, select “Account” in top right corner, then select “Edit Profile” located in top left corner, beneath your Avatar image.

A reminder to be sure that [mailto:support@portalarium.com support@portalarium.com] is unblocked from your e-mail account!
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==External Links==
*[https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?p=75830 Update of the Avatar #240]