Update of the Avatar/Update 45
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Update of the Avatar #45 – 2013.10.25: Scene Jam #3, Truth, City Basements, and Wizard Tower
Update 45 announced the third Unity Scene Jam's winners, expanded the story previews concerning Truth and the Oracle, revealed city-lot basements and the Wizard Tower Village Home, and introduced the historical Baron 3 pledge tier.[1]
Scene Jam #3
The third challenge asked entrants to build a village representing the period when survivors returned to the surface after the Cataclysm. Thirty submissions were scored for meeting the brief, polish, originality, layout and gameplay, performance, appearance, and mood or story.[1]
Petur Agust and Bill Lowe won with 93 points plus extra credit for a nighttime version. Carlin Archer placed second with 93 points, and Robert Thompson placed third with 92.[1]
Truth and the Oracle
Arabella's story preview described the possible path of Truth through Novia, including the Vertas elves, Blackblade Pass, the Bay of Storms, Elysium, and the halls of Artifice. The theme was not simply acquiring facts, but confronting the difference between desired truth and truth as it is.[1]
A second piece, framed as a travel journal, described explorers finding an ancient representation of the Oracle in a swamp. The discovery raised questions about whether the Oracle was a surviving machine, a magical being, or something else. Both creative passages are summarized here rather than reproduced.[1]
City basements
The issue displayed City Stone basements beneath the Lord of the Manor home, with pledge rewards ranging from two stories at Baron to four at Lord of the Manor. It also introduced two- through five-story City Stone & Timber Split-Level variants, emphasizing the large usable area beneath a city lot.[1]
Wizard Tower and Baron 3
The Wizard Tower was a four-room village-lot house whose teleportation disk connected its two floors. Its upper level had a circular deck linking the central structure with two smaller towers.[1]
Portalarium also opened a Baron 3 pledge tier after the first two Baron tiers sold out, stating that additional city lots would be built to support it. The issue closed with historical merchandise and Recruit-a-Friend reminders.[1]