Editing Release 126 (section)

==News==
=== New Britannian Film Stars ===
[[Image:Port_Travian_Video_Filmstars_Group_Photo-shrunk.png|800px]]
:''Twenty-eight snazzily-dressed Avatars, the front row on bent knee, pose for a portrait in a great hall.''

:''This image was taken at the wrap party for the filming of the Travian Player-Owned Town promotional video directed by Ravalox Darkshire and produced by Cerus of Travian Games on April 14th, 2018.'' 

:''From left to right: Back row: 01. Obsidian Tempest 02. Strahd 03. Tila Tenderfoot 04. Fiowyn Wyldemane 05. Oziel Bahroud 06. Merrik Dragon 07. Illiott 08. Cambria Stormlin 09. Rada Torment 10. Ravalox 11. Istyrl Miroa 12. Schneider DragonFang 13. Lavabomb Zamflardian 14. Grinchy Krabnevir 15. Stryker Sparhawk 16. Green Knight (Dev)''

:''Front row: 17. Wereit 18. Balkoth 19. Engineer 20. Stella Moon 21. Wind Silvermoon 22. Drake Aedus 23. Liz The Wiz 24. Brazen Spirituality 25. Gavin Fhaergus 26. Dellakit 27. Amber Raine 28. Brogan Murphy''

Way back in 2018, while Travian Games and Portalarium were still involved in the production of Shroud of the Avatar, a series of short promotional videos were created and published as part of the marketing campaign. One of those videos was called “Player Town Party” and was set in Darkshire Hills cast entirely by players, 28 in all.

Much effort was put into preparing and executing the event. Cerus of Travian Games worked with Ravalox to coordinate and record the event. There was crafting, dueling, and dancing; a group of players even formed a band and performed during the recording to show off the instrument synchronization feature.

At the end of the video the cast can be seen having an artist capture the event on canvas. Though the canvas was lost soon after the artist completed the work, it has been found and, with the help of Caravaggios Wolf, the canvas has been restored and made available to the folks at the Crown Mercantile shop and warehouse to be added into their extensive Crown Store catalog.

The cast members will be receiving the title of “Film Star” along with their own copy of the painting. If you see one of New Britannia’s Stars during your travels, don’t be shy about asking for an autograph!

The video can be seen here:
: [https://youtu.be/2m3Y4w7CzjM Youtube: Shroud of the Avatar - Player Town Party]

=== More New Bug Brigade Rewards ===
The Bug Brigade has gained four new rewards for distribution in future months: a pair of portrait-oriented insect paintings to intersperse with the three existing landscape ones and a pair of butterfly chairs in new colors to complement the original one. We’ve also made choose-one bags of existing rewards for those who’ve already received all the scheduled items in various categories. The official reward schedule in the [https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/the-bug-brigade-rides-again.164901/ forum post] will be updated to include these soon.

[[Image:SS_Insect_Painting_D_and_E_overlay.png|800px]]
:''A sunny patch on a gold-patterned wall shows two gold-framed paintings.  One is of an iris on a black background, with a dragonfly on the bloom and a red beetle on a leaf.  The other is of a branch of pomegranate with several flowers and a broken fruit, with a caterpillar on a stem, a butterfly on a bloom, and another butterfly in flight above it.''

[[Image:SS_Butterfly_Chairs_Purple_and_Orange_overlay.png|800px]]
:''Two chairs shaped like butterflies, one with orange wooden wings and black metal accents and one with purple wooden wings and silver metal accents, are displayed on a balcony overlooking a large tree fronting a sunny plain.''

=== Notes on Game Balance ===
We have started the monumental task of re-balancing the game. This effort will take quite some time and a lot of resources, but will be well worth it. Optimizing the game is incredibly important. This effort has been in the works for some time and we are now in the midst of data collection and analysis.

Along with balance, there is performance: we have identified a number of areas that can be improved from graphics quality to reducing draw calls and a Level of Detail (LOD) overhaul. All very resource-intensive and will take some time before results will be visible and complete.

Game balance touches on every aspect of the game. Skills, crafting, loot, mob power, and more! We will be discussing the balance project as well as Scottie’s efforts with regard to houses on stream, Friday, May 31st at 4pm CT. This should be a greatly informative stream with a peek into how houses are made and what we plan to do to update our existing as well as new house inventory.

See you there!

– Ravalox
 
=== Latest News and Q&A in the May Livestream ===
The post-release Community Livestream is Friday, May 31st at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Stephen “Ravalox” Reinen and other members of the development team for a 1-hour community livestream!

To enter the prize drawings, type “Make way for June bugs” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website Add-On Store.
*[https://www.twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar Twitch/shroudoftheavatar]
*[https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=9085 Add-On Store]

Please submit questions using in-game universal chat by typing “askadev” before your question. We’ll do our best to answer these questions live on the stream. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4PM CT!

Members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team stream on twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar — be sure to get the channel on follow for notifications so you can join us right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel. Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!!

Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over on
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/shroudoftheavatarofficial and on Discord at https://discord.gg/shroudoftheavatar.