Shroud of the Avatar
Shroud of the Avatar is an online action roleplaying game designed by Richard Garriott published by Portalarium. It was formally announced on March 8, 2013, and would be available by digital download for MS-Windows. The official release date was moved multiple times before the game’s worldwide release on March 27, 2018.
Shroud of the Avatar was initially planned to be composed of five episodes, with the first released episode being titled Forsaken Virtues.[1]
Since neither Richard Garriott nor Portalarium owns the rights to Ultima, only to the Lord British character, Shroud of the Avatar has no explicit ties to the Ultima universe. However, initial concept and design information indicate that subtle nods to the series are included in the game.
Gameplay[edit]
Gameplay consists of both solo and multiplayer options. There is an overarching story into which players' lives are woven; players can focus on exploration, adventure, or discovery. Players can also choose to participate safely within settled lands. Fundamental virtues and the consequences of actions play a role in Shroud of the Avatar. Players are free to choose both good and evil actions, but must live with the consequences.
The game includes the following gameplay features:
- Fully interactive virtual world
- Class-less character system with a virtue system and player actions that have consequences
- Player housing
- Crafting system that avoids busywork, allowing players to craft as a hobby or a career
- Meaningful player-versus-player (PvP) that minimizes griefing
- Scene-based encounters – replayable scenes that may be played solo or shared with others
The game world is dual-scale, a feature found in Ultima games prior to Ultima VI. Enemies seen in original prototype footage and screenshots include skeletons, giant spiders, wolves, and dragons. The prototype also showed Lunar Rifts (or Lunar Portals), which work very similarly to moongates, allowing the player to travel to eight different locations depending on the current phase of the moon.[2] Richard Garriott also confirmed that Lord British will be in the game.[1] The working name for the landmass the game is set in is New Britannia,[3] the geography of which is strongly reminiscent of Sosaria in Ultima III.
Development[edit]
Richard Garriott began designing the game in November 2011, following the publication of his treatise, "What is a Lord British “Ultimate” Role Playing Game?." In the first half of 2012, he began researching suitable technologies for the game. Around September 2012, Garriott started assembling a team of people to work full-time on the game, which was known by the working title Ultimate RPG. The game is being developed in MS-Windows, for MS-Windows. The team chose the Unity 3D game engine and began work on an early prototype.[1]
On March 8, 2013, at 10 AM CST, the game was formally announced and renamed Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues. Concurrently, a 30-day Kickstarter campaign with a one-million-dollar goal was launched. Within a couple of hours, it had already received over two thousand dollars from backers. Beyond raising funds, the Kickstarter campaign also served as a means to communicate with and receive feedback from prospective players. One of the potential stretch goals mentioned by Garriott is porting the game to mobile platforms, which should be simple in Unity.[1]
Release[edit]
The game was released worldwide as a digital download on Steam in 2018. The boxed edition includes several additional items that are either provided as PDF files or are not included with the standard digital release. The boxed edition comes with a number of additional items that the normal release either has as PDF files or not at all.
Included with the Game[edit]
The limited boxed edition includes the following items:
- The book Adventurer's Manual
- The book Our Epic Origin
- The Shroud of the Avatar map made from cloth
- An ankh amulet
- A reference card, which also holds an artistic cypher for the runic alphabet
Gallery[edit]
Screenshots[edit]
Other Pictures[edit]
Back of the game box
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The rune cypher on the reference card
External Links[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 WTF Dragon. “Interview with Richard Garriott”. The Ultima Codex - Shroud of the Avatar. 2013-03-08.
- ↑ RoosterTeeth. “Lord British Presents Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues”. Lord British Presents. 2013-03-08. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
- ↑ Brian Crecente. “Shroud of the Avatar is Richard Garriott's spiritual successor to Ultima”. Polygon. 2013-03-08.