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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.
Return to Britannia campaign starts tomorrow in Ultima Online [Updated]
For the entire month of October, Ultima Online will be running another Return to Britannia campaign in the hopes of luring both the old guard and the new generation for the game's 17th anniversary. From October 1st through the 30th, former players will be able to return to the game for free, mirroring previous Return to Britannia events. There's a lot to celebrate in UO these days above and beyond its birthday. The game recently implemented its Publish 86 with the vice vs. virtue system, added more sea adventures, and is working on a new UI for the enhanced client. You can check out video of the 17th anniversary festivities after the break. [Update: Players are reporting that the Return to Britannia campaign is not resurrecting very old accounts.]
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.
Richard Garriott becomes Lord British again for Ultima Online's 17th anniversary
On September 24th, 1997, Ultima Online opened its doors, forever changing the MMORPG landscape. That was 17 years ago today, and that means it's time for cake and ice cream! Just make sure to check that cake for deadly poison. Poisoning cake and giving it to unsuspecting passers-by is actually a thing you can do in this crazy sandbox. Wanna celebrate? UO Stratics reports that the Broadsword team is hosting an in-game party tomorrow evening with some notables from UO's history in attendance. Join me for a live, in-game event on TC1 September 25th 2014 at 7pm ET! Meet Richard "Lord British" Garriot and Starr "King Blackthorn" Long at Castle Blackthorn to celebrate Ultima Online's 17th Anniversary! The anniversary parties are always a blast (Thanks to the Dark Lady). This year will be very special as both Lord British and King Blackthorn will join us. If you can't attend, it will be shown on youtube . It will also be streamed live on http://www.twitch.tv/stratics. A post on the official site also welcomes the new patch we covered last week and a new player Advisor program similar to the old Counselor program made famous in the game's early days.
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.
Vice vs Virtue PvP system arrives on Ultima Online's test center
In testing now on Ultima Online's test server is publish 86.3, better known as the Vice vs Virtue patch. You remember the virtues, those iconic and ambiguous philosophical principles guiding the Avatar? OK, now forget all that because peeveepee, guys. Yes, Vice vs Virtue is a a new system designed to bring a fresh version of Order and Chaos consensual PvP -- any PvP, really -- to landmasses that are currently PvE, including Trammel and most of the expansion territories launched in the last forever. The opt-in faction-based system brings the battle to the core cities of the game and rewards participants with a special currency that can be traded for everything from mounts and artifacts (gear) to murder pardons and hair dye. Look, UO players take their hair dye very seriously. The patch also introduces new trader quests to the game and revamps dungeon loot spawns to encourage ventures to the open-PvP Felucca facet. The devs have invited players to help stress test the systems this afternoon.
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.
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.
Ultima Online overhauls factional PvP in publish 86
Broadsword Online has announced that Ultima Online's publish 86 will arrive on the test server this evening. Notably, the patch includes the first phase of the game's new Vice vs Virtue system, a massive ground-up rework of the existing faction PvP system intended to bring rewarding, objective-based PvP back to the cities. The update also features a new trading-based quest system, new property generation mechanics for spawned loot, and a refreshed Cleanup Britannia vendor. Check out the complete patch notes on the official site. If you're a former player thinking of dropping by your old haunt to see how it's doing, recall that last month, the developers hinted at a return-to-UO promotion coming in August.
Ultima Online patch delayed because of Mythic shutdown
While last month the Broadsword Online team reassured players of its games that they would not be affected by the shutdown of Mythic Entertainment, Ultima Online Producer Bonnie "Mesanna" Armstrong has admitted today that update 86, originally slated for July, has been delayed until at least mid-August. "The shutdown of the Mythic Studio [...] has caused us to move the rest of our build machines from that office to the office in Herndon before we were expecting," she wrote in her producer's letter today. "So that has caused a delay in our publish time." But there's also some good news for players of the veteran MMO. Here's some of what Armstrong says the team is currently working on: a new trade quest to acquaint players with the world, new Clean-up-Britannia rewards, a new interface for the enhanced client (helped along by a well-known player modder), a revamp of the Advisor program (what used to be called the Counselor program), revisions to the global loot system, anniversary rewards for the game's 18th birthday in September, and a return-to-UO promotion for former players in August. Armstrong also notes that the UO team is looking to hire an engineer and site designer.
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.
Garriott bringing SotA to E3
If you'll be in Los Angeles for E3 next week, you'll probably want to check out Richard Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar. If you won't be there, don't sweat it because Massively will be, and we'll also be chatting up Lord British and getting our hands on the fantasy sandbox's latest demo. Portalarium is hard at work on SotA, as you can see by the recent Q3 update notes. [Source: Portalarium press release]
Mythic closes, 'end of an era' for former MMO studio
We saw this coming, but it doesn't make it any less regrettable: Long-time MMO studio Mythic Entertainment has been shut down by EA. "We are closing the EA Mythic location in Fairfax, Virginia, as we concentrate mobile development in our other studio locations. We are working with all impacted employees to provide assistance in finding new opportunities, either within EA or with other companies via an upcoming job fair," EA told Kotaku. Former Mythic lead Josh Drescher tweeted his reaction to the news: "Condolences to everyone at Mythic today. It's the end of an era, but you were all part of something amazing." Mythic shuttered Warhammer Online last December, while Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot, and many Mythic developers moved over to Broadsword Online Games this past February.
Shroud of the Avatar announces Release 6 access for this weekend
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 6 access has begun today at 11:30 a.m. EDT for all who backed the game's Kickstarter at the First Responder level and above. This game access period will end on Sunday, May 25 at 11:00 p.m. EDT and will be the first in a series of once-per-quarter releases that focuses on polish and iteration. You can read the complete patch notes from Executive Producer Starr Long at the official site.
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 6 brings better visuals and combat
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 6 is set to roll out this Thursday with a host of new goodies for backers to enjoy. Release 6 includes visual improvements, player-to-player secure trade, additional crafting animations, combat improvements, looting fixes, revised animals, a new iteration of the overworld map, and a "sanity pass" on NPC dialogue. The weekend's website update was primarily focused on the improvements being made to the game's housing system, including larger abodes and even new types of homes. The Founder Lord Town Home was scaled up to include more rooms and even a secret hiding spot. Meanwhile, the Benefactor Town Home was displayed in all of its glory, boasting several rooms (including another secret one) and twin decks. If living the high life isn't for you, the team also made a rustic barn house featuring two stories and four rooms.
