Gestern ist mit Release 50 das nächste Update für Shroud of the Avatar veröffentlicht worden und wenn alles nach Plan läuft, wird das Rollenspiel am 27. März 2018 (mit Release 52) die Early-Access-Phase auf Steam hinter sich lassen. Das Crowdfunding-Projekt von Portalarium (Richard "Lord British" Garriott, Starr Long und Tracy Hickman) befindet sich seit dem 24. November 2014 in der Vorabzugangsphase. Seit über einem Jahr ist die Online-Spielwelt zudem persistent.

Bis Ende März 2018 wollen die Entwickler die Client-Performance (Bilder pro Sekunde) verbessern, die Ladezeiten verkürzen, weitere Übersetzungen implementieren (es wurden keine Sprachen benannt), die Belohnungen im Spiel überarbeiten, den Fortschritt bzw. den Weg des Spielers sowie alle Karten optimieren (besserer Spielfluss), physische Kickstarter-Belohnungen startklar machen und last but not least alles auf den Start vorbereiten. Auch Verbesserungen bei der Geschichte, dem Verhalten der Gegner und der Benutzeroberfläche sind vorgesehen. Welche Ziele (Release 50 bis 52) die Entwickler genau verfolgen, kann hier nachgelesen werden.

Im weiteren Verlauf des Jahres wollen sie sich dann um den Ausbau der Combos (mehr Kombinationsmöglichkeiten von Fähigkeiten und Zaubersprüchen), der öffentlichen Gärten, der Verkäufer, des Angelsystems, des Ackerbaus und des Gruppensystems (Lookinf for Group; Schlachtzüge als Gruppe von Gruppen) kümmern.

Das Spiel, das laut Starr Long (Executive Producer) ein geistiger Nachfolger von Ultima Online sein soll, wird folgende Features bieten, wenn es Ende März die Early-Access-Phase verlassen wird:

• Multiple Play Modes:
  • Offline Mode with special features and content
    • Save Games
    • All Store, Pledge, Bundle Items available for gold in-game
    • Combat Balance
    • Companions
  • 3 Online Modes on One Worldwide Server (no Shards!)
    • Single-Player Online
    • Friends Online
    • Multiplayer Online
• Multiple Platforms, Versions, & Languages:
  • PC, Mac, Linux
  • Steam & Direct Download
  • English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian (Game & Website)
• Combat: Use-Based Advancement
  • Classless System with fully customizable builds from all schools
  • 7 Combat Schools with 75+ Combat Skills
    • Blade
    • Bludgeon
    • Heavy Armor
    • Light Armor
    • Polearm
    • Ranged
    • Shield
  • 9 Magic Schools with 95+ Magic Spells
    • Air
    • Chaos
    • Death
    • Earth
    • Fire
    • Life
    • Moon
    • Sun
    • Water
  • 4 Strategy Schools with 40+ Skills
    • Focus
    • Subterfuge
    • Tactics
    • Taming
  • Free Attack and Auto Attack options
  • Fixed Hotbar and Dynamically Dealt Deck options
  • Combo system where spells and skills combo into different abilities
  • 20+ Weapon Types: Swords, Daggers, Polearms, Axes, Hammers, Bows, Staves, Wands, etc.
  • 12+ Armor Types: Cloth, Leather, Augmented Leather, Chain, Plate, Epic Plate, etc.
  • Cover that affects combat
  • PVP: Open Flag, Duels, Guild vs. Guild, Open PVP Zones, Open PVP Player Towns, Open PVP Basements
• Movement: Walk, Run, Sprint, Jump, Swim, Tumble
• World & Story: 230+ scenes
  • Episode 1 Storyline Complete
    • Paths of Truth, Love, and Courage that can be completed in any order
    • Path of the Oracle (finale)
  • 220+ Scenes:
    • 100+ Outdoor Adventure Scenes
    • 30+ Dungeons & Sewers: A vast Underworld with a multitude of interconnections.
    • 60+ Towns
    • 6 Control Points that block access to different parts of the map until taken (or snuck through)
    • 13+ Open PVP Areas: Obsidian Ruins, Shardfalls, etc.
    • 2 Overworld Scenes
    • 10+ Roving Encounters
  • 100s of unique NPCs with names, conversations, and schedules
  • 10+ Merchant Types
  • 100s of quests
  • In-game Map system (also accessible via the website)
  • Journal
  • Town Sieges linked to working Celestial Mechanics
  • Dread Artifacts and the Shroud of the Avatar in-game item
  • Traps, Puzzles, Keys, Locks, Secret Doors, and Breakable Walls
• Creatures: 55+
  • Bosses: Dragons, Trolls, Phoenixes, Daemons, Reapers, Liches
  • Magical: Elementals, Golems, Chest Mimics, Barrel Mimics, Imps, Wisps, Slimes, Maneaters, Flesh Flayers, Mushroom Men, Killer Plants
  • Undead: Skeletons, Zombies, Ghosts
  • Clockwork: Clockwork Dragon, Clockwork Assassin, Clockwork Dog/Cat/Raven, Clockwork Monkeys
  • Humanoids: Elves, Kobolds, Bandits, Satyrs, Fauns, Reshapers, Barbarians
  • Creatures/Animals: Bears, Wolves, Corpions, Spiders, Deer (Stags and Does), Rabbits, Cats, Dogs, Horses, Llamas, Chickens, Donkeys, Turkeys, Ravens, Eagles, Crocodiles, Pigs, Sheep, Wild Boars, Ravens
• Character Customization:
  • Facial Feature Morphing, Hairstyles, Skin Tone, Eye Color, Hair Color
  • 135+ Emotes including emotes that can be taught/traded between players
  • 10 Slots for Gear: Head, Chest, Arms, Legs, Feet, Finger, Neck, Back, Musical Instrument, Belt
  • 100s of Wearables including dresses, masks, hats, cloaks, and armor
  • 40+ Pets including Eagles, Rabbits, Cats, Dogs, Lynx, etc.
  • Multiple Characters on Single Account
• Crafting
  • 100s of recipes for gear, decorations, potions, food, etc.
  • 100s of modifiers on crafted gear based on materials, critical success, location, masterworks and enchantments.
  • Gem Socketing, Enchanting, Masterworking, dyes, and patterns for a variety of post crafting, post process effects on items.
  • Recipes that can be found, purchased, or discovered.
  • Salvage system that can be used to gain raw materials, components, and patterns from gear.
  • Patterns that can be salvaged or purchased that can be applied to gear to change appearance.
  • 50+ materials to be gathered.
  • Classless crafting system that can be freely mixed with combat skills.
  • Public and Player Vendors to sell goods.
  • Purchase Order system to buy goods through vendors.
  • Specialized Trainers to teach skills.
  • Regional Economies with relative abundance/scarcity of goods.
  • Player created books and book printing.
  • Player created bulletins and bulletin boards.
  • 6 Schools of Gathering with 20+ Skills.
    • Agriculture
    • Field Dressing
    • Fishing
    • Foraging
    • Forestry
    • Mining
  • 5 Schools of Refining with 15+ Skills.
    • Butchery
    • Milling
    • Smelting
    • Tanning
    • Textiles
  • 5 Schools of Production with 25+ Skills.
    • Alchemy
    • Blacksmithing
    • Carpentry
    • Cooking
    • Tailoring
• Housing
  • 6 Lot Sizes: Row, Village, Town, City, Keep, Castle.
  • Lot Deeds offered on website or through monthly in-game raffle.
  • 100+ different houses.
  • 50+ different basements.
  • 1000s of decorations including furniture, walls, fences, paintings, rugs, food, trophies, statues, trees, etc.
  • Detailed decoration system to make your place truly unique.
  • Magic Movers system that allows you to save and move your decorated home & basement.
  • Land Tax System.
  • Housing Permissions so multiple players can share the same land including renting.
  • 320+ Dynamic Player-Owned Towns where owners can customize lot placement, start locations, decorations, town blessings, tree coverage, music, merchants, and more.
  • Servants and house pets.
  • Public Cache Chests.
  • Player-Owned Town Blessings that offer various bonuses.
• Social/Miscellaneous
  • Friends
  • Guilds
  • Text Chat with multiple channels (guild, party, private, scene)
  • Discord integration
  • Mail System
  • Radio linked to customizable webstreams.
  • Banking System
  • 13 Musical Instruments (Lute, Drum, Piano, Harp, Flute, etc) with songs played via ABC/MML files including ability to play as a synched group.
  • 'DnD 1' playable on a teletype machine.

Letztes aktuelles Video: E3-Trailer 2014