SotA Reaches One Year of Development

Portalarium is running promotions for Shroud of the Avatar anniversary.

The anniversary of the launch of Portalarium's fantasy RPG, Shroud of the Avatar, development will be Monday, April 7. After the success of the first Kickstarter campaign, raising slightly more than $2 million, the crowd funding effort has continued and today has surpassed the $3.7 million mark in total funds. The game is built in Unity and expected to launch at the end of 2014.

To mark the date, several promotions will run until April 7.

Portalarium Creative Director, Richard Garriott, commented the event saying:

“Wow, what an amazing community we have. In March of last year, when we announced a one million dollar Kickstarter, we could only hope that fans of our past work would want to join us in the mission to rekindle games like we had made with the Ultima series including Ultima Online. We were incredibly pleased to reach two million dollars during the 30 days of the initial campaign. Then starting just the second month after the Kickstarter close, players have continued to join us in ever greater numbers and at faster and faster rates month to month. As crowd funding pledges continue to increase, we are able to grow our team and deliver more game content and features to the community.

“Portalarium is deeply grateful to be working with and for, such an amazing community of gamers / explorers of what can be done in games.”

Backers can purchase, upgrade or gift Founder level pledges until Monday. After April 7th, those prices will increase to Benefactor prices and new Founder level pledges will be closed.

Other promotions/special events planned for the days leading up to and including April 7 are:

  • Daily one hour developer hangouts that take a closer look at the game’s development
  • A final 12 hour live stream marathon from noon-midnight on April 7 that will include special guests and announcements
  • Special backer access to Release 4 from morning to midnight on April 7
  • Prize giveaways throughout the week
  • April 7 drawing for one Alienware gaming laptop
  • April 7th Drawing for one trip to Austin, Texas for a tour of the Portalarium studios and some design brainstorming with the Shroud of the Avatar dev team (flight & one night hotel expenses covered)
  • Founder Adventure Pledges given away during each daily hangout
  • Weekend Access Passes to Release 5 given away during each daily hangout

Alienware is doing the following promotions:

  • For the next three weeks, Alienware is sponsoring 250 weekend access keys to Shroud of the Avatar Early Release 5 later this month. The keys are available through the Alienware Arena Shroud of the Avatar Group. You can learn more about the giveaways here.
  • Alienware is also sponsoring $20 pledge upgrade coupons to members of the Alienware Arena community. The coupons are good for new backers or current backers looking to upgrade their accounts. More on the coupon promotion can be found here.

Guilhemette "Whilhelmina" Giacopazzi

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Early Founder Rewards
# Apr 05 2014 at 11:20 AM Rating: Decent
There are only 2 more days left to get Early Founder rewards. If you pledge on your own, you spend $45 and you basically only get the game. If an existing Early Founder gifts you a pledge, it costs less and you get a bunch of bonus items in game. If you're interested in Early Founder rewards, contact me at enderandrew (at) gmail (dot) com.

For $40 total you can get the game and all these rewards right now.

* The Replenishing Snowball Box - This is a magical box of 50 snowballs that regenerates annually during the holiday season.
* Exclusive Title - Available only to pre-launch backers, your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Benefactor" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
* Episode I - DRM-Free Digital Download of Episode I
* Early Access - Exclusive Early Bird Alpha + Beta Access (estimated Alpha delivery in December 2013)
* Star Citizen Vanduul Polearm: Benefactor Edition
* Immortality Fruit - 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.
* Early Skill Access - Be the envy of all the other players when they see you wielding new skills they don't have access to! You will have 2-weeks, Early Skill Access to some new skills as they are added to the game.
* Ankh of Virtue Necklace (Digital) - The Ankh of Virtue Necklace. The mystical Ankh has been the symbol of spiritual rebirth and eternal life in many cultures. Those on the path of virtue may elect to wear this necklace as an outward sign of their choice to live a life of exemplary virtue!
* "The Story of Mondain in the World of Sosaria" (Digital) - High quality scanned images of Richard "Lord British" Garriott's, original typewritten, high school English class essay of "The Story of Mondain in the World of Sosaria". This is the original story that was the foundation of Richard's Ultima games.
* Akallabeth D&D Campaign (Digital) - High quality scanned images of Richard "Lord British" Garriott's, original handwritten notes for the "Akallabeth!" (yes, the original spelling included two "L's" in the title) Dungeons & Dragons campaign he designed as a teenager, and that became the foundation of his first commercial RPG, "Akalabeth."
* Exclusive Title - Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Adventurer" to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).

* Exclusive Title - Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Pioneer" to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
* Founder Shield - One (1) starter shield, uniquely identifiable as a Founder shield
* Teachable Emote - Get ready to show off (and teach) your unique Adventurer emote!
* Blade of the Avatar (Digital Download) - Exclusive serialized, Shroud of the Avatar novel by Tracy Hickman (Digital Download)
* Founder Cloak - Special cloak for your in-game avatar to wear, proudly displaying unique symbology identifying you as an early Founder of the game.
* Royal Elderberry - You will receive one Royal Elderberry seed. Planting the Royal Elderberry seed will yield a Royal Elderberry which is necessary for crafting the unique, Royal Purple Founder's Dye. There will be no other source, ever, for creating the Royal Purple Founder's Dye. Utilizing the Royal Elderberry to craft the dye will also bear a single seed which can be planted and harvested, over and over, for all eternity. The Royal Elderberry seed can be transferred between players.
* Last Name - Get your last name early! Experience in battle leads to Notoriety, but unlike ordinary adventurers, Immortal Adventurers will have the right to select and display both a first and last name right from the get-go!
* Star Citizen Vanduul Polearm: Founder Edition - "It has long been known, that the lands of Lord British were on a planet found far from the earth. Few have known, but many suspected, that artifacts, if not living visitors, from technologically advanced civilizations, periodically find their way to New Britannia..."
A special Star Citizen cross-promotional weapon, designed by Chris Roberts, that is truly out of this world. Uniquely identifiable as a Founder item.
* Exclusive Title - Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Immortal Adventurer" to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player)
* Teachable Emote: Flex - Show off those biceps and impress the crowd!
* Crystal Sword - Kill almost any enemy you encounter with a single blow using your Crystal Sword! The Crystal Sword, uniquely identifiable as a Founder's sword, shatters after a single use. (Let it be known that Lord British is impervious to the Crystal Sword!)
* Founder Tunic - Special tunic for your in-game avatar to wear, proudly displaying unique symbology identifying you as an early Founder of the game.
* Exclusive Starter Melee Weapons - Start the game with 2 starter melee weapons, uniquely identifiable as Founder weapons
* Exclusive Title - Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of "Founder" to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
* Teachable Emote: Dust Off - Hard day's adventuring? That's nothing. Show off how easy it is with this teachable emote.
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