First, let’s take care of a little housekeeping. The extended grace period for the initial Kickstarter Tiers will end on Monday, May 20, 2013 at 12 pm CST. Remember, that if you pledge prior to the end of the grace period, you can upgrade your pledge and be locked in to the low Kickstarter prices and Exclusive Early Founder Rewards until April 7, 2014. The New Tier Descriptions are available on our website if you would like to check them out before Monday. Now, for the fun stuff...
New Team Members!
We have added 4 new Developers to the team this month and so far, they have hit the ground running! Many of you have met Scott Jennings, our resident Web Guru, in the new and improved SotA IRC Chatroom, and he’s not the only new Scott! Scott Jones, former Art Director for Ultima 9, has also joined us as an Environmental Artist. Rounding out the new Devs are Bill Kirkman, Content Designer, and Michael Hutchison, who will also be working on Environmental Art as well as level design. If you want to get to know them a bit better, just watch this week’s SotA Developer Roundtable.
New Forums!
Our members-only Dev Forums are getting ready to enter internal testing and should be open for the Developer+ backers to move in by the end of the month. And the best news is, after we’ve had a chance to do some more “hands on” testing, we will be moving all of our forums over to the new, robust, feature-rich forums!
Game Development Update
As far as actual Game development goes, we’ve been busy laying the foundations for several vital systems, and have made great progress! The tech is now in place for both the combat and the housing systems, and were completed ahead of schedule. Bob has already started the process of getting all of Stephen’s amazing housing concept art into the game engine, while Scott and Michael are sculpting the epic landscapes that will be home to heroes and monsters alike.
In addition to the foundational work we’ve got in place, we also doubled the map size, as promised in our $1.5M Stretch Goal! Taking advantage of the vast new world, Richard Garriott and Tracy Hickman have been busy defining the new locations and have wrapped up the backstory, which Tracy is now preparing to serialize for his Shroud of the Avatar Prequel Novel!
Please Register on SotA and Link Your Kickstarter Account!
We have lots of exciting things planned for June, and you can stay on top of all the latest news by registering on our website, https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com. And if you have not already done so, please be sure to Link your Kickstarter Account, so we can ensure that you receive all of your backer rewards as soon as they are ready to roll out!
In celebration of the thirteenth annual Quo Vadis German game conference, Portalarium announces that German will be the first non-English language supported by Shroud of the Avatar!
Richard Garriott is delivering a keynote speech at this year's Qua Vadis conference, and as a special nod to our German backers, SotA introduces a new pledge tier, the "Edelmann" Housing Pledge Tier, which includes a special German village house, the unique, in-game title of "Edelmann," a unique Deutsche Dogge pet (or should it be a Dachshund...we'll let the community decide), and a special ability to brew (and teach) a unique German beer that adheres to the Reinheitsgebot, or "German Beer Purity Law" of 1516. SotA will engage the community to submit and vote on visual images for the German Village house, with the team selecting the most popular image to integrate into the game.
In conjunction with the German game conference, we are extending the grace period for the original Kickstarter Pledge Tiers and prices through the rest of this week! We're also adding an entirely new pledge tier designed specifically for our German community! Check out these awesome rewards:
$550 EDELMANN TIER - The Edelmann Village House Tier contains the following:
INCLUDES ALL THE REWARDS FROM DEVELOPER TIER
Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Edelmann" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player)
Rent free, Village Level House Deed, transferable between players
A special, commission free Vendor!
An upscale, German Edelmann's home (German home styles to be submitted and voted on by community)
A waterfront, German-style Cabana, sitting on stilts, in the water, attached to your Village property by a bridge (**Village waterfront lots available to Village, Town, or City property deed holders; higher value pledges have lot selection priority over lower value pledges**)
Unique Beer Brewing Ability adhering to the German beer purity law, Reinheitsgebot. Only you will be able to teach this unique beer formula to others!
An animated, German Automaton house decoration (we are inspired by the Rathaus-Glockenspiel in Munich)
Unique, in-game, Deutsche Dogge house pet (or maybe a Dachshund)
Special Founder Level plaque as a digital, in-game decoration for your house
Printed Shroud of the Avatar novel signed by Tracy Hickman and Richard Garriott!
Printed Village Property Deed, hand signed by Richard "Lord British" Garriott
There will also be an all digital version of the Edelmann tier available for those that do not want physical goods shipped to them:
$545 EDELMANN - ALL DIGITAL TIER - Contains only the digital rewards of the Edelmann Tier
We had a pretty exciting weekend after launching Kickstarter integration functionality on the SotA website last Friday! Due to email exchange glitches, many of you had trouble receiving confirmation emails allowing you to register on the SotA website and link your Kickstarter account. Fortunately, we were able to track the issues down and get that email pipeline unclogged by Saturday! As of today, there are over 13,000 registered members on the SotA site, and more coming in every day!
There are over 22,000 Kickstarter backers for SotA, so we still have over 9,000 backers that haven't registered on the SotA site and linked their Kickstarter account. For those of you that haven't linked your Kickstarter account on the SotA website, please click here to do so at your soonest convenience!
Extended Grace Period
It is taking us a little longer than expected to get everyone migrated across and the new tier functionality integrated into the SotA website. We expect to have the new tiers ready to go early next week, so we are extending the grace period until then. Once that integration is complete, all Kickstarter backers will be able to purchase/upgrade to both the previous tiers (pending availability of limited tiers), and the new tiers, whereas new backers after the grace period ends will only have access to the new tiers.
So, tell your friends to come take advantage of the few extra days that the Kickstarter Tier Rewards are still available!
We
have great news for all of our Shroud of the Avatar Kickstarter
Backers! We are now ready to merge your pledge information on the
Shroud of the Avatar
Website. And the process couldn't be easier!
If
you are already registered on our official website:
Click
the account button at the upper right corner of the screen.
Select
the "Link Kickstarter Account" button.
Follow
the instructions. That's it, you're done!
If you haven't already done so, we really need for everyone to register on our site and link your Kickstarter accounts so we can manage your pledges and rewards going forward!
If
you are not registered on our official website:
Click
the account button at the upper right corner of the screen.
Select
the "Link Kickstarter Account" button.
Follow
the instructions. Really, it's that easy!
Once
your Kickstarter account is imported into the Shroud of the Avatar
website, you will be able to upgrade your pledge or even purchase
some of the cool new stuff we will be offering in our SotA Store,
which we hope to have available sometime next week. Shroud of the
Avatar shot glass anyone?
Thank
you again for your patience while we got the tech in place for you to
securely import your Kickstarter account information. If you have
any problems during the process, please contact us via
Support@Portalarium.com. And welcome to your new home!
Wow! Words can't adequately express how overwhelmed we are with the incredible outpouring of support and dedication that all of you gave to the Shroud of the Avatar Kickstarter campaign, and to all of us on the SotA Team! Because of your incredible support, we raised a total of $2.03M, double our original goal!
We were totally amazed by how many stretch goals we blew past in our final 24 hours! We began Saturday morning at the $1.5M stretch goal, and were really, really hoping for some miracle to get us to the magical $1.8M stretch goal (yeah, along with all of you, we really want Tracy Hickman's prequel novel, plus all the other cool stuff in the $1.6M & $1.7M stretch goals)!
Quite honestly, with only 24 hours to raise almost $300,000 we felt the $1.8M stretch goal was out of reach. Boy, were we wrong! You guys showed us the incredible power of community! Reading through all of your comments going into the final stretch, the relentless cheering, challenging, shout-outs and sharing, it was apparent that all of you created the rocket fuel that caused the pledges to explode like nothing we could have imagined! You not only drove us to the unexpected $1.8M stretch goal, but your infectious enthusiasm propelled us past the $1.9M stretch goal, and with less than an hour before the end of our campaign...because of all of you...we pushed past the $2M stretch goal!
We couldn't have gotten this far without you, and together we will continue this incredible journey! We have learned so much from you about what this game should become, and we very much look forward to continuing that interaction, so please continue to discuss your ideas with us on our official site at ShroudOfTheAvatar.com! We’ll have regular updates and information for friends old and new. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter, or tweet us with #LBSOTA to keep the conversation alive!
Together, we will craft Shroud of the Avatar to be a truly unique, amazing, and FUN gaming experience!
For anyone who missed the final moments of our 24-hour, Kickstarter Live Dev Cam, here it is, forever archived for your enjoyment!
Grace Period & Kickstarter Integration
There were many people that were unable to get their pledges processed correctly when the Kickstarter campaign closed on Sunday morning. We are extending a one-week grace period allowing people to make pledges for the same Kickstarter tiers on our SotA website. This grace period ends at end-of-day on Sunday, April 14.
Kickstarter Backers can Purchase/Upgrade Pledges at Initial Prices for One Year!
We took a cue from our buds over at Star Citizen and decided that those who pledged during our initial campaign (at $25 First Responder tier and above) can purchase further tiers, or upgrade existing ones, at the same price they were available during the Kickstarter campaign, thru April 7, 2014 (pending availability of limited tiers)! WooHoo!
New Tiers, Add-Ons, and the Layaway Plan!
We are currently designing the new tiers for brand new backers, and should have those available by end-of-day Sunday, April 14th, at the conclusion of our current one-week grace period. It is our intention for all Kickstarter backers to be able to purchase/upgrade to both the previous tiers (pending availability of limited tiers), and the new tiers, whereas new backers after April 14th will only have access to the new tiers.
We are just about ready to go live with a new version of our web store that includes add-ons that all backers can add to their pledges. Keep an eye out for that sometime later this week, or early next week.
Also, we received many requests by people that wanted to purchase the more expensive tiers but couldn't afford to pay it all at once. We are working on a plan that will allow monthly payments towards tier purchases. The total cost of a tier paid for monthly may be higher than paying all at once, but we're still working out the details. You'll hear more about this in a future update.
Kickstarter Integration
We have begun work on getting all the information from your Kickstarter accounts integrated into our SotA website, allowing you to see your account information all in one place at ShroudoftheAvatar.com. Once that is completed, we'll send out a notice to all of you asking you to register at our website (if you haven't already done so) and include information about how to confirm your Kickstarter account information so we can link it to your SotA account. This process will take several weeks, so we appreciate your patience.
You don't have to wait for us to complete this integration before you upgrade your pledge. You can go to ShroudoftheAvatar.com right now, create an account, and make a pledge. Once we integrate your Kickstarter account information, we'll combine your Kickstarter pledge with your SotA website pledge.
Are You Having Problems with Amazon Payments?
If Amazon Payments is having trouble processing your payment, please feel free to go to our website at ShroudoftheAvatar.com and make your pledge there using Paypal or Credit Card. If you continue to have problems, please contact us at: community@portalarium.com.
How to Contact us for Support or Questions
If you are having any problems with your pledge or have any questions, please contact us at: community@portalarium.com.
Life After Kickstarter!
Our immediate tasks are to get everyone's Kickstarter accounts integrated with our system, allowing for upgrades and new pledges. And to get the new tiers defined for new backers after the grace period ends April 14. Plus we need to help everyone that had difficulties with their pledges getting processed correctly through Kickstarter or Amazon.
We are also working to expand the functionality of our Chat and Forums, plus the addition of the Developer's blog/chat/forums. And the Dev team is formalizing the backlog of project features/tasks/milestones based on how much money we've raised and the stretch goals we reached. Expect another update from us later this week outlining more information about future tiers, add-ons, and project development plans!
From all of us on the SotA Team, a Heartfelt Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
GUILT PLEDGE
============================= Thank Lord British and prove your virtue with a $10 donation. If you ever pirated an Ultima game or used an exploit to grief other players in Ultima Online, here’s your chance to repent! For your $10 donation you will receive a clear conscience and Lord British's undying gratitude.
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $25 or more
4989 backers
Limited
(5 of 4994 left)
FIRST RESPONDER
=============================
Be one of the first 5000 pledges to get First Responder rewards, which includes digital download of the game and exclusive Early Bird Alpha + Beta Access (estimated Alpha delivery in December 2013)!
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $30 or more
4990 backers
Limited
(8 of 4998 left)
SECOND RESPONDER ============================= The First Responder level has been so popular we're adding a Second Responder level! Includes digital download of the game and exclusive Early Bird Alpha + Beta Access (estimated Alpha delivery in December 2013)!
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $33 or more
2513 backers
Limited
(2487 of 5000 left)
PIONEER =============================
REWARD BONUS: ALL TIERS NOW RECEIVE IN-GAME "PIONEER" TITLE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Only available during Kickstarter, at all reward levels, your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Pioneer" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player). Also includes digital download of the game and exclusive Early Bird Alpha + Beta Access (estimated Alpha delivery in December 2013)!
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $40 or more
865 backers
ADVENTURER
=============================
Adventurer level includes digital download of the game and exclusive Early Bird Alpha + Beta Access (estimated Alpha access in December 2013)!
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $50 or more
1063 backers
IMMORTAL ADVENTURER =============================
Available only to backers, you will receive one Immortality Fruit seed. With the Farming Craft you can plant the Immortality Fruit seed, which will bear a single fruit. When eaten, this fruit will fully heal you, and leave you with a single seed which can be planted and harvested, over and over, for all eternity. The Immortality Fruit seed can be transferred between players. Also, get your last name early! Ordinary adventurers must reach higher levels to display a last name for their character, but not you! Immortal Adventurers will have the right to select and display both a first and last name right from the get-go! Additionally, your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Immortal Adventurer" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Includes Adventurer Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $60 or more
1747 backers
FOUNDER
=============================
Only available during Kickstarter, at Founder level or above, your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Founder" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player). In addition, you will be privy to the game development progress before it is live! As concepts are created, screenshots are taken, and news is delivered for the game, they will be posted to a private Developer’s Blog page to which you will have access (estimated blog access in April 2013).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Adventurer Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $80 or more
1575 backers
ROYAL ARTISAN =============================
NOTE: Please use this tier instead of the previous Royal Artisan tier which mistakenly required $15 non-US shipping.
=============================
In addition to Episode 1, you will receive the full content of the future episodes 2 & 3 (including Beta access to Episodes 2 & 3)! You will also receive 1 starter-level, indestructible, artisan's tool for the skill of your choice! Also includes 2 starter-level ranged weapons, uniquely identifiable as Founder weapons. One of the range weapons will be a crossbow based on a unique design by David "Iolo" Watson! Unique ability to tame an elusive monster that an ordinary player could never tame! (dependent upon reaching $1.4 M Taming! stretch goal). Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Royal Artisan" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Includes Founder Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $80 or more
53 backers
All gone!
ROYAL ARTISAN =============================
In addition to Episode 1, you will receive the full content of the future episodes 2 & 3 (including Beta access to Episodes 2 & 3)! You will also receive 1 starter-level, indestructible, artisan's tool for the skill of your choice! Also includes 2 starter-level ranged weapons, uniquely identifiable as Founder weapons. One of the range weapons will be a crossbow based on a unique design by David "Iolo" Watson! Unique ability to tame an elusive monster that an ordinary player could never tame! (dependent upon reaching $1.4 M Taming! stretch goal). Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Royal Artisan" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Includes Founder Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Add $15 to ship outside the US
Pledge $100 or more
358 backers
VIRTUAL COLLECTOR
=============================
Get the full virtual experience with the Shroud of the Avatar Digital Collector’s Edition! Includes digital download copies of the Runic Language Translation Print, PDF Art Book, and Digital Game Soundtrack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Founder Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $120 or more
669 backers
EXPLORER - ALL DIGITAL ============================= In addition to Episodes 1, 2, and 3, you will receive DRM-free, digital download versions of the final TWO, full-length, standalone games, Shroud of the Avatar Episode 4 and Episode 5 (including Beta access to Episodes 4 & 5)! You will also receive the new world map as a digital, uniquely framed, in-game decoration for your house. Plus, your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Explorer" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Includes Virtual Collector Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $125 or more
803 backers
EXPLORER
=============================
Digital is awesome but you can't hang your digital on the wall! Get a full size cloth map of the new world in its original state (estimated map availability in December 2013)!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Virtual Collector Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Add $15 to ship outside the US
Pledge $150 or more
1217 backers
COLLECTOR
=============================
Get the full experience with the Shroud of the Avatar Collector’s Edition! In addition to the cloth map, you also receive a physical copy of the Runic Language Translation Print and an official Collector’s Coin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Explorer Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Add $15 to ship outside the US
Pledge $200 or more
156 backers
PATRON
=============================
Get your name permanently listed in a Domesday Book in game as a Patron, visible to all who play the game for all eternity!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Collector level rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Add $15 to ship outside the US
Pledge $250 or more
133 backers
Limited
(367 of 500 left)
ANCESTOR
=============================
Get your name or your character’s name permanently displayed on a tombstone in the game as an ancestor of the old world, visible to all who play the game for all eternity! Lord British would love to include your avatar’s name from your past adventures!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Patron Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Add $15 to ship outside the US
Pledge $350 or more
60 backers
Limited
(3940 of 4000 left)
NAVIGATOR
=============================
Includes all the Collector Level rewards, but your cloth map will be hand signed by Richard “Lord British” Garriott himself. (If you choose this level, you can take satisfaction in the agony signing tons of maps will cause Richard. Also, look forward to a time lapse video of Richard signing all the maps!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Ancestor Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Add $15 to ship outside the US
Pledge $400 or more
66 backers
Limited
(934 of 1000 left)
DEVELOPER
=============================
Want to be a part of the Development process? This is the level for you! Gain access to the private Developer Chat/Forums and help participate in guiding the game (estimated Developer Chat/Forums access in April 2013). You also get to help create a character in the game as well as name them. When everything’s said and done, we’ll put together a PDF document of various concepts and design documents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Navigator Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Add $15 to ship outside the US
Pledge $500 or more
373 backers
Limited
(627 of 1000 left)
CITIZEN
=============================
Stake your claim! Gain a Rent Free Village Level House Deed that you can pick up and place on any open Village lot in the game. This Village House proudly displays a special Founder Level plaque for all to see.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Developer Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Add $15 to ship outside the US
Pledge $750 or more
207 backers
Limited
(293 of 500 left)
KNIGHT ============================= As a Knight you will receive an upscale Knight's home (to place on a Citizen level Village property) + Your very own, unique, Founder's house servant, appropriate to your stature as a Knight (dependent upon reaching $1.8 M stretch goal) + One Expert level crafting station for your home, uniquely identifiable as a Founder's crafting station + A unique piece of furniture, fit for a Knight, identifiable as a Founder's piece, as a digital, in-game decoration for your house (What could it be? A Knight's Round Table, perchance?) Your Knight House proudly displays a special Founder Level plaque that can be seen by all. In addition, your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Knight" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Includes Citizen Level Rewards (note: only 1 Village House Deed per Knight pledge)
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Add $15 to ship outside the US
Pledge $1,500 or more
68 backers
Limited
(332 of 400 left)
LORD
=============================
Stake your claim! Gain a Rent Free Town Level House Deed that you can pick up and place on any Town lot in the game. This Town House proudly displays a special Founder Level plaque that can be seen by all. In addition, your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Lord" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Developer Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $3,000 or more
20 backers
All gone!
BARON
=============================
Stake your claim! Gain a Rent Free City Level House Deed that you can pick up and place on any City lot in the game. This City House proudly displays a special Founder Level plaque that can be seen by all. In addition, your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Lord" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Developer Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $3,500 or more
17 backers
Limited
(3 of 20 left)
BARON 2 ============================= Stake your claim! Gain a Rent Free City Level House Deed that you can pick up and place on any City lot in the game. This City House proudly displays a special Founder Level plaque that can be seen by all. In addition, your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Lord" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Includes Developer Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $5,000 or more
5 backers
Limited
(5 of 10 left)
DUKE
=============================
Being involved in developer discussions is great, but joining the team and Lord British is even better! Gain VIP access to special round-table design discussions hosted by Lord British during gaming conventions and events where the game is being showcased. Plus, a full tour of the Portalarium studios in Austin, Texas for a behind the scenes look and personal design discussion with the game team. (Event entry fees and travel expenses not covered; includes at least two round-table discussions to be held at those events occurring no later than twelve months following the delivery of the game).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Baron Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $10,000 or more
9 backers
Limited
(11 of 20 left)
LORD OF THE MANOR
=============================
Want to be the Lord of the Manor? Join Richard “Lord British” Garriott in a personal tour of the actual Britannia Manor and its collections. (Choose 1 of 4 offered dates; travel expenses not covered).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As a bonus, Richard Garriott will give each Lord of the Manor one of the rarest Ultima collector items imaginable, the game that started it all, Akalabeth. This rare game is in the original packaging that Richard made himself and sold only a dozen copies before it was picked up by a publisher.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Includes Duke Level Rewards
Estimated delivery:
Oct 2014
Pledge $10,000 or more
2 backers
All gone!
LORDS OF THE MANOR ============================= Want to be the Lord of the Manor? Join Richard “Lord British” Garriott in a personal tour of the actual Britannia Manor and its collections. (Choose 1 of 4 offered dates; travel expenses not covered). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Includes Duke Level Rewards
