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Shroud of the Avatar unleashes a community update
Do you want to venture into a dark mine filled with kobolds? This time it will be different because it will be taking place in Shroud of the Avatar once the game patches Release 13 to a live release. But that's hardly the only point of the game's most recent update for the community, which comes hot on the heels of the game's overall success on Steam's Early Access service. This most recent update also includes several player-made screenshots and guides as well as the community event schedule running through the weekend for Release 12. A 12-hour telethon is also planned for December 1st, starting at 11:00 a.m. EST; the development team will be live to answer questions and interact with players through the broadcast. Check out the full dispatch here to catch up on community news and get a peek ahead.
James Cameron's 'Avatar' sequels will stick to 48 frames per second
There was talk for a while that James Cameron would shoot the Avatar sequels at a brisk 60 frames per second, which is no mean feat when people aren't yet sure about 48FPS movies. However, it now looks like the famed director is scaling back those ambitions. He tells Empire that he was considering 60FPS to accommodate home viewers (since it's better-suited to TVs), but that he's ultimately sticking with 'just' 48FPS; he's plugging into a "more mature" system where the slower speed makes sense. The sci-fi sagas won't push the boundaries of moviemaking technology quite as far as you might have expected, then, but the chances are that they'll still be visual extravaganzas.
Omnipresenz lets armchair explorers control real human avatars
Traveling has gotten increasingly accessible thanks to budget airlines and services like Airbnb or Couchsurfing. But, if you'd still rather do some armchair exploration, and you've already seen most of what Street View can offer, then this Indiegogo campaign might tickle your virtual wanderlust. The Barcelona-based project -- called Omnipresenz -- wants to give you the power to control a human avatar. With a camera-equipped helmet, your avatar feeds you real-time video and audio as they walk around town. You can also instruct them to complete tasks as they go, through the interface you can see below the fold. If you're feeling benevolent, you can ask them to do something nice for others -- such as buy food for a stray dog, or give a stranger some flowers. Before that happens though, the service's users will have to vote on it first and raise funds to get it done.
Shroud of the Avatar enters Steam early access today
There's a certain feeling that you get when you walk around in a game with a new hat, as if you're making a statement: "Hello, world, I have a new hat." And you can get a new hat by logging into Shroud of the Avatar and doing the Grand Tour quests added in the game's most recent release. The new pilgrim hat will be available only during Release 12's testing schedule, so you'll want to get the hat soon if you want that new hat. Release 12 does offer more than just a new hat, though; the update offers a comprehensive new user experience, 15 new skills, 50 new weapon and armor recipes, 40 new songs, new maps, guilds, and other improvements. Studio boss Richard Garriott has also weighed in on the state of the game and updates for the solo play version of the game. Check out the full update on the official site for more details and community news. SOTA officially enters early access on Steam today.
Shroud of the Avatar shows new screens, preps for Steam
Shroud of the Avatar's weekly update is here, and as always, there's a good bit of info packed into the lengthy post. There are a few new screenshots featuring scenes from Release 12, though you'll need to explore the game world to find them since Portalarium is coy about the new locations. There's also a blurb about interacting with SotA's Steam community as well as a helpful how-to list in case you're unsure how to upload screens. Portalarium reiterates that SotA will become purchasable on Steam in early access form on November 24th.
Shroud of the Avatar preps for Steam launch
On November 24th, Shroud of the Avatar will be launching on Steam's Early Access service. Backers of the game should already have their Steam keys. Once the game is launched, the development team wants to keep the game's servers on at all times, leading to the current state of the game. In this round of testing, contrary to past tests, players can this time access the game servers according to the game's most recent development update. The newsletter also highlights the ominous Tower of the Shuttered Eye, a rather unpleasant place that will be added to the game with the next major patch scheduled for release on November 20th. There's also a post-mortem on the launch of the game's most recent test patch, which saw a big increase in numbers over previous events. Take a look at the full update for a clearer picture of how the game is doing and what's just around the corner.
Shroud of the Avatar Release 11 helps prepare for Steam debut
With Shroud of the Avatar's launch on Steam Early Access next month, the team is eager to test crucial systems to prepare for a wider playerbase. As such, Release 11 has gone into testing from today through Monday, October 27th, and will allow backers to access a Steam-specific test as well. Release 11 patches in a character advancement system, major combat improvements, crafting additions, and a big change to the game's overworld map. "We are also moving towards each of these maps being visually distinct (albeit similar when part of the same area)," the team posted. "The result, we feel, is a map that is MUCH easier to navigate and coordinate with other players. We know this is slightly different than what we have presented in the past, but we feel this is the right direction for the game." Shroud of the Avatar will go live on Steam Early Access on November 24th. The video guide on how to install the Steam test is all yours after the break!
Shroud of the Avatar's update 10 stresses stability, challenge dungeons
Any game with a strong online component is only as strong as its servers. You could make the best game in history, but if no one can log in and play it, it's not going to be worth much. The latest update on Shroud of the Avatar's development notes that one of the big issues plaguing the game's 10th major update was stability. That means that the team needs more people connected and playing (or trying to) so that the issues can be documented and solved. The team also introduced the Challenge Dungeon to get a clearer picture of PvE combat, noting that it had become a bit too single-note even against different sorts of enemies. PvP, meanwhile, is a matter of constantly moving, which is very network-intensive. The update discusses some of the patches planned to address both issues in the future, including better enemy AI and skills reworked to not make constantly darting about the most attractive update. Take a look at the full developer dispatch for more information.
Test Shroud of the Avatar, get a hat
Release 10 access for Richard Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar sandbox begins Thursday morning, according to an update on the Kickstarter portal. This release is primarily a polish patch, Portalarium says, but housing utility, PvP, and population density were addressed as well: We also made changes to increase player population densities in the game because we observed players becoming more and more spread out as we added more scenes; especially scenes with player housing. Speaking of player housing, we also noticed many people claiming houses, but not actually using nor decorating them. To address both these issues, we reduced the number of scenes with player housing and we introduced costs to lot claiming and house deed purchases (deeds can be purchased from the bartender in Owl's Head). We also reduced the number of PVP arenas to only two. Hopefully this will concentrate the players in fewer areas, and increase the number of decorated buildings. In far more important news, SOTA's devs admit that testing participation has been falling off with successive releases; to entice players to test, FREE HAT. No, really; you get a free special hat for completing a quest in each release. SOTA was greenlit on Steam last weekend after just a few days of campaigning. The full release notes can be found on the official website.
The Daily Grind: Are giant characters at a disadvantage?
As a player who usually chooses a small character, I will once in a while push myself out of my comfort zone and select the biggest slab of avatar beef to play (literally in the case of my World of Warcraft Tauren). When I do venture over to the other side of the size slider, I'm struck by how many downsides there are to being big. For starters, speed normalization means that big characters appear to run very, very slowly (even though they're going just as fast as everyone else). Your character is blocking more of your screen view and is sometimes hated by other characters for blocking theirs. And then there's the lovely fact that larger toons are easier to target in PvP. So do you think giant characters are at a disadvantage? Do they have enough pluses to compensate if so? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Shroud of the Avatar has already been greenlit on Steam
Well, that was fast! After a brief campaign that began late last week, Shroud of the Avatar announced today that it has been successfully greenlit on Steam: As you can see on the page your overwhelmingly positive support has resulted in an incredibly fast green lighting of Shroud! Thank you all so much for your support. Stay tuned as we now work with Valve to get Shroud in the Early Access section of Steam as soon as we can. SOTA's successful 2013 Kickstarter campaign has to date brought in almost two million dollars. Early access is currently available with a $45 minimum pledge.
Richard Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar seeks Steam Greenlighting
Richard Garriott has conquered outer space, but can he get a foothold on Valve's popular digital distribution service? He sure hopes so; he and his team announced that they launched a Steam Greenlight campaign this past week for Shroud of the Avatar. "SotA's long-term success depends upon us reaching as wide an audience as possible, and Steam is a great way to do that," the team posted. Portalarium said that the possible Steam version will be not a replacement for the direct download of the game but an additional option. There is also speculation about giving current Shroud of the Avatar backers Steam keys so that they would not have to buy the game twice.
PAX Prime 2014: Hands-on with Shroud of the Avatar
When I got my first look at the live game of Shroud of the Avatar at PAX Prime this past weekend, one thought slammed me to the ground: This game is so much better-looking than the website's screenshots let on. My first steps into the spiritual successor to the Ultima franchise were taken in a player village at night. The incredibly dark surroundings were broken by the flickering flames of braziers in nearby huts and the swirl of fireflies. It was moody, stylish, and, if you'll pardon the word, magical. One of the devs told me that lots of work has been done lately to provide dynamic lighting that even goes so far as to allow your character's "eyes" to adjust to the dark and change the screen accordingly. After poking around a few half-finished homes, I ported into a PvP zone to experience the game's combat system. I learned that fighting in Shroud of the Avatar is neither simple nor similar to other MMOs. There's a rather intriguing deck system in which you earn points to spend on cards, then create a build from those. When you switch into combat mode, your hotbar is gradually dealt cards depending on their cooldowns. And if you don't use those skills within an allotted time? Why, they go away. It was confusing to grok, although the dev mentioned that it was something all players will need to spend actual time to learn and wield effectively. I'm unsure how this marks an improvement over most current combat systems, although it might appeal to those who miss Chronicles of Spellborn's system.
Here's Shroud of the Avatar's opening cinematic
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 9 is less than a week away, and Portalarium is whetting fan appetites by showing off the fantasy sandbox's opening cinematic. There are a bunch of other interesting tidbits in this week's newsletter, too, including pics and maps of Release 9's Ardoris, a call for player-written books, and even a level designer job opening. The cinematic's the main attraction, though, and you can view it after the break!
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 8 is here, and so are its tutorials
It's time for Shroud of the Avatar's Release 8. No really, it's time right now, as you're reading this. Portalarium has published instructions and a lengthy list of features (both included and not included) in this particular build. The focus is on PvP this time around, and to that end both Scott Jennings and Chris Spears have posted tutorials. Jennings' takes the form of a PvP deck-building guide that's hosted on the SotA forums, while Spears narrates a 24-minute video that you can watch after the break. Release 8 started at 11:30 a.m. EDT this morning and it runs until 11:00 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 28th.
Government turns to robots for security interviews
National Center for Credibility Assessment is looking to bring the process of doling out national security clearances into the future. As it does more often than not, "the future" in this case means robots. Alright, well not robots exactly but a virtual avatar powered by a computer program. When you apply for security clearance, you first have to fill out a form that requires you to disclose all past drug use, crimes and mental health issues. Those same subjects are then revisited with an actual human, but the NCCA thinks it might be more effective to jump straight to an interview with a computer. In a study Army trainees were put through a mock interview with a racially ambiguous avatar. Turns out the pretend applicants were much more likely to admit to mental health problems or alcohol abuse when speaking to the computer than they were when filling out a form. Not only that, but at the end of the interview they simply volunteered additional info after being asked if their was anything else they'd like to talk about.
Shroud of the Avatar preps PvP update and asks for player music submissions
Shroud of the Avatar is ready to pull the trigger on Release 8 and the game's PvP system. Release 8 will come out next week and feature a massive host of PvP changes that have apparently gotten the dev team hooked. "The team's 30 minute PvP play sessions every morning are growing longer and longer as we're having too much fun to stop," the devs wrote. Portalarium is also putting out a call to the community to help crowdsource Shroud of the Avatar's soundtrack. The team has a list compiled to guide player composers in creating and submitting their own music for the game.
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 7 adds water lots and more
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 7 access began this morning. It runs through Sunday, June 29th at 11:00 p.m. EDT. Producer Starr Long has posted a lengthy update that details some of the changes you can expect if you're a backer of the fantasy sandbox. Chief among these are new water lots and water-based buildings, a 3-D overworld map system, player-to-player secure trading, animal reskins and improved animations, and more. Full details as well as a list of known issues and instructions is available at the official SotA website.
E3 2014: Shroud of the Avatar's Garriott and Long emphasize immersion
Touted as the spiritual successor to Ultima Online by its creators, Shroud of the Avatar aims to fill a sandbox-shaped void in the modern MMOverse. Judging by the successful crowdfunding campaign and continued support by backers, I know there are plenty of players who are eager for that to happen and believe SotA is the game to do it. Are backers getting what they paid for? One weekend every month they can jump in and experience a new release of the game and offer feedback to the development team. And thanks to E3 2014, I also got to jump in and get some hands-on time with the latest release of the game. On top of that, I spoke with Richard Garriott and Executive Producer Starr Long about everything from player economy and pay-to-win concerns to combat, immersion, and player-contributed content.
Shroud of the Avatar sells player-owned towns for a steep price
An "epic" Shroud of the Avatar update this week revealed that Portalarium is making significant changes to its pledge tiers and store offerings. These changes include the ability to obtain more than one character per account, two additional pledge tiers, and a stretch goal store with horse mounts. Portalarium also showed off the new row house, concept art for the city of Ardoris, and announced the ability to purchase player-owned towns. These towns won't come cheap, however: Prices start at $750 and go up to $4000 for the privilege. Shroud of the Avatar will be re-opening Release 6 for play from June 9th through June 13th.
