PatchNotes:PreAlphaR1

This is the Game Guide from the Patch Notes for Pre-Alpha Release 1

Download

 * Download and run SotAInstaller.exe here: http://goo.gl/KVYzpF
 * We recommend having at least 4GB of free disk space on the drive you install to, though the game will only download about 650MB of data.
 * Either allow the installer to auto-run on complete, or run either the desktop shortcut named “Shroud of the Avatar” or the “Launcher.exe” located in your installed Portalarium directory.
 * Once the launcher is finished, the game will start.
 * (optional) Leaving the launcher running will help us and others by providing some of your bandwidth to assist others in downloading the client.

Login

 * Enter your www.shroudoftheavatar.com registered login information - If you have not yet linked your kickstarter pledge to your account, you will not be able to gain access.
 * Choose your play mode - Currently, the only valid option is Single Player Online.
 * Click Enter Game to enter Avatar creation, and begin playing.

Movement

 * ‘w-a-s-d’ keys control Avatar movement
 * Double tap ‘w’ key to engage in auto-run

Camera

 * Mouse movement + holding right click controls the camera view

Interface

 * The top right menu contains icons that can be left-clicked to perform the following actions-
 * Crossed swords & shield: Access Avatar character information
 * Bag: Open up inventory
 * Gears: Options menu
 * Question Mark: Bring up help page
 * Sealed Letter: File a bug report
 * Avatar character management
 * ‘c’ key or left-clicking the crossed swords & shield icon in the top right menu will bring up your Avatar’s character information
 * ‘b’ key or left-clicking the bag icon in the top right menu will toggle open/close your inventory bags
 * ‘escape’ key exits all open interfaces
 * Double-left click objects to interact with them (the cursor will highlight when hovering over valid interaction objects). Some examples of interactions:
 * Doors can be opened through interaction
 * Chests can be opened and looted through interaction
 * Light sources can be toggled on/off through interaction
 * Decorative items and equipment can be moved via holding left click+dragging items to their new desired location and releasing the left mouse button.
 * To wear equipment, open the Avatar information screen (‘c’ key) and drag equipment onto the display avatar or corresponding highlighted equipment slot and release the left mouse button.
 * To decorate, make sure the avatar is within a housing lot (denoted by a runic sign post) then left click+drag objects from the Avatar’s inventory into the world then release the left mouse button when the object is green to place it in the world. A red object will not be placeable.
 * The ‘q’ and ‘e’ keys will rotate the object.
 * To remove decorations, left click+drag an item from within the world back into the Avatar’s inventory.

NPC Interaction
To converse with NPCs, simply stand near the NPC you wish to converse with, and hit the ‘enter’ key to bring up your chat log. Type what you wish to say to the npc within the chat box, and hit ‘enter’ again to converse.

Chat
The chat log can be scrolled through by left click+dragging the slider on the right side of the chat window

Bugs
To report a bug, either left-click the sealed letter icon in the top-right menu or open up your chat log (‘enter’ key) and type in ‘/bug’ followed by your bug report and the ‘enter’ key. This will copy your bug report and game information to the clipboard and bring up the SotA bug forum where you can paste the clipboard into a post for us to receive. Before posting in the forums please follow these guidelines listed later in this document under "Bug Reporting Guidelines".

Misc

 * The ‘f11’ key will take a screenshot of the game and save it to your installed SotA directory
 * To find out the current position of the Avatar in game open up the chat log (‘enter’ key) and type in ‘/loc’ followed by the ‘enter’ key. This also copies out the location to your clipboard so that it can be pasted elsewhere as needed.
 * You can click the green triangular gems in the corner of the chat window and the top right button panel to lock or unlock the auto-hiding of those UI elements. To move or re-size the chat window, left-click + drag the window borders as desired (left border to move the window and right border to resize).
 * The ‘f4’ key or left-clicking the options menu “Quit” tab will exit the game.

Known Caveats/Issues
Known Issues for Pre-Alpha Release 1

Graphical

 * LODs (level of detail) objects are still being implemented so players may occasionally experience objects visually ‘popping’ out of existence or between visual states
 * Camera will occasionally clip through walls when near them.
 * When using a multiple monitor setup there may be issues with the default window placement in windowed mode.
 * Quitting the game will remove the player Avatar before fully quitting, this will be fixed in future releases.
 * Logging into the game takes a little while to load in characters and geometry, there will be some visual popping and general frame-rate issues for a short duration after logging in.

Gameplay

 * Combat is turned off - will be enabled in Release 4.
 * Crafting is turned off - will be enabled in Release 2.
 * Female Avatars can equip cloaks but they have no visuals.
 * Changing the house on a lot will clear out and delete currently placed decorations, there is a warning that will ask before clearing.
 * The map will reset upon entering/leaving Owl’s Head (either through quitting or returning to login).
 * Not all items are interactable at this time (most notably the majority of items in NPC housing is currently locked in place).
 * Some doors are only opened by using a switch (sometimes hidden)- currently there isn’t yet a visual accompanying a locked door, but there is a locked door sound that will play when attempting to open.
 * Some staircases and ramps will allow the player to walk off the sides, placing the player instantly on the ground.
 * If the Avatar is idle for an extended period of time (roughly 30 minutes or so) the game will auto-logout. In the future this may be accompanied by an idle warning message.
 * Currently if you log out and back in, you always start at the same starting position, it doesn't remember where in Owl's Head you were, so you don't have to delete your character.
 * We are working on a command to teleport you to this location, like /stuck, and we will see if we can get it in a patch soon.

Dialogue

 * Dialogue is still in an early state and conversations are still being fleshed out - responses are still somewhat limited. We are logging player interactions and Release 2 will see considerable improvement.
 * Line of sight for non-player characters is not implemented for Release 1 so you will be occasionally greeted by a character through a wall.

User Interface

 * Bags and inventory are still in development and more options for sorting and visual representations will be added in a later release.
 * Changing hairstyle and hair color while creating an Avatar sometimes does nothing to the portrait but ultimately still affects player’s Avatar.
 * When playing full screen using multiple monitors, the user can move the mouse cursor outside of the game window- this functionality is only intended to work in windowed mode or borderless windowed mode (which has yet to be implemented).

Performance

 * FPS counter is not always accurate.
 * There may be framerate issues and slowdown in game, optimizations are still in progress.

Patching

 * If the patcher process is terminated while updating (e.g. computer/patcher crashes) user may need to uninstall and reinstall to finish the patching.

Reporting Bugs (or QA 101)

 * In many ways, QA Testing is the foundation stone of making a great game even better. And since our community is already deeply involved in helping us do just that, it was only natural to include you in this important task. This document was written to help you make the most of your bug reports.


 * All player Bug reports should be limited to the Bug Forums, located here. Please post all bugs using the following Player Bug Report Template ONLY, as one of the devs will have to confirm your bug and enter it into our tracking software.  If your bug report is confusing or lacks important information, it will not be useful to us in making Shroud a better game.  Here are some things to remember when reporting a bug:


 * Please search for your bug before posting in order to avoid duplicate reports. If you find that someone else has already reported your bug, you can simply “like” their original post,  so we can know you are experiencing it too.  You can also add any additional information you have to the existing thread, Do not “like” a bug post just because you think it’s a funny or well-written bug! ;)


 * Only reply to an existing thread if you have additional information for the reported bug. ALL extraneous commentary will be deleted to avoid cluttering the reports.


 * If your bug is not a dupe, please post your bug in the appropriate category, following the Player Bug Report Template.


 * Keep your bug report short and factual. We don’t need to hear how angry a particular bug made you feel or why you think that this particular bug is a sign that the Apocalypse is imminent.


 * Include information that will make your bug easy to find in game, including your location, screenshots, or landmarks that will help us find it.


 * IF you have QA background (or want to practice real QA work), you can take a stab at the “Steps to Reproduce” section. It is extremely helpful if we can reproduce your bug.


 * If we need more information on a bug report, we will request it via PM, so please keep an eye on your Inbox.


 * Do not take it personally if your bug is not commented on by a Dev. We’re awesome, but even awesome Devs only have so much bandwidth. We will be working on player submitted bugs along with our other duties and prioritizing which ones we tackle first based on severity and impact on gameplay.


 * Bugs that are not properly formatted, are not reproducible as written, or are not actually bugs (opinions on the way something looks, a known issue, or a feature not yet implemented) will be locked to replies or deleted to avoid cluttering the Bug Forum.

Recognizing a Bug

 * Some bugs are obvious. Some, not so much.  So ask yourself these questions if you are not sure if you’ve found a bug.
 * Is what I’m looking at abnormal compared to similar things in the game? Does one NPC not respond to conversation while everyone else does?  Is one part of a hillside a different texture than other hills in the area?  If something is notably different from other, similar things, it may be a bug.
 * Does it make playing the game difficult or impossible? Do you fall through a floor or get stuck on a bump in the ground?  Are you unable to walk forward without snapping back to your starting point. Is your friend able to log in but you can’t?  If so, then you may have found a bug.
 * Can I reproduce it? Does doing the same things result in the same problem?  If so, it’s a bug.  If it only happens once and you can’t reproduce it, it could STILL be a bug, but it may have just been one-time glitch.
 * Is this a known issue? Do you keep trying to form a group with your friends in Single Player Online? Is crafting not working? Why can’t I cast magic missile at the darkness? ;)  Be sure to check the list of “Known Issues” to see if the “bug” you found is actually a feature that is not in the scope of this test.

Player Bug Report Template
Bug Title (Thread Title): Please use the following format; Bug Category*: Short Summary of the Issue

Reproduction Rate: % of times this bug occurs as a ratio of attempts/occurrence.

Blocker? Yes/Partial/No. Does this bug prevent you from playing the game?

Details: Include any additional information that may be relevant here. Helpful information may include your current location in game, NPC you are speaking with, what you were doing when the bug occurred, etc. Current location can be found by typing /loc in the in-game chat window. Typing /bug will take you to the forums with relevant game info copied to your system clipboard that you can then add to a forum post.

Steps to Reproduce: Optional but helpful! List, step by step, how to reproduce the bug in game. These steps should be methodical, detailed, and allow anyone to reproduce the reported bug. See the samples below.

User Specs: Include information about your operating system and/or the version of the game here.


 * Bug Category = Performance, Character, Housing, Interface, etc

Here is a blank template you can copy/paste into your forum post:

Title:

Reproduction Rate:

Blocker?

Details:

Steps to Reproduce:

User Specs:

Sample Bugs

Example 1

Title: Character: When creating a female character, clothes are not visible on the paper doll.

Reproduction Rate: 100%

Blocker? No

Details: When trying to create a new female character, the paper doll image is missing all clothing except undergarments. When I finish creating the character and enter the game, she has clothing on. Screenshots included**.

Steps to Reproduce:

Log into Shroud of the Avatar, Single player Online.

Enter Character Creation Screen

Select a Female Avatar

Note that the paper doll preview is missing her clothes.

Select “Done” and enter the game

Note that the Avatar has the default clothing upon entering the game.

User Specs: PC running Windows 7, 64 bit OS. Game version 25

Example 2

Title: Conversation: NPC Firelotus won’t respond to conversation.

Reproduction Rate: 100%

Blocker? Partial.

Details: When I try and speak with NPC Fire Lotus inside Fire Lotus Tavern, she does not respond, even with a standard “I don’t understand” response. I even offered to buy her a beer and she snubbed me!

Steps to Reproduce:

Log into Shroud of the Avatar, Single player Online.

Travel to Fire Lotus Tavern, loc x, y, z in Owl’s Head.

Approach NPC FireLotus, loc x, y, z.

Note that NPC Firelotus barks, I could sorely use an Ale!”

Type, “Hello FireLotus! Can I buy you an ale”.

Note that the NPC FireLotus does not respond.

Attempt various other statements and observe that none prompt a response from FireLotus.

User Specs: PC running Windows 8, 64 bit OS. Game version 25

Example 3

Title: Player Housing: Upstairs loft in the Viking home is missing collision.

Reproduction: 100%

Blocker? No

Details: When I climb up the stairs loft in the Viking home, I fall through the floor back to the ground.

Steps to Reproduce:

Log into Shroud of the Avatar, Single player Online.

Travel to loc x, y, z.

Enter the Viking Village Home.

Walk upstairs.

Observe that when you get to the floor of the second story loft, you fall through.

User Specs: Mac, 64 bit OS. Game version 25

Example 4

Title: Performance: Low FPS after entering Owl’s Head.

Reproduction Rate: 30%

Blocker? Yes

Details: Sometimes, when I’m in Owl’s Head, the frame rate is so severe that it is like watching a slideshow. I can barely walk, and sometimes it locks up completely. Logging out and then back in seems to clear up the problem until I have played for about 30 minutes, but then I start getting really bad frame rate again.

Steps to Reproduce:

Log into Shroud of the Avatar, Single player Online.

Play for approximately 30 minutes.

Note how FPS starts to slow down.

Log out of the game.

Log back into the game and observe how the FPS has improved.

User Specs: Laptop running Windows ME. Game version 25

Please include screen shots, if possible, for graphic or art bugs. They can be inserted at the bottom of the report, after the written details.