Release 115

RELEASE June, 29, 2023
Release 115 goes live June 29th at 10:30 AM CDT.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 115 (R115), we offer more words, floating beacons of menace, and birthday cake.

For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.

Lord British Birthday Bash: R115 Livestream
Join us on July 7th at 4 PM CDT for our annual Lord British Birthday stream! We will be talking about Release 115 and replying to questions both from the streaming audience as well as from the askadev postings and the devs will set out into the game world teaming up with players to go adventuring!

We will be starting the stream at our usual time, but we expect that the stream will extend past the usual length (more prizenings!)

The Great New Britannia Mapping Project Update
A cartographer with a spyglass in the Sunless BarrensThis month our team of cartographers has completed maps in South Paladis, bringing ten maps online. Next, we are sending our team into Quel and possibly mounting an expedition into the vastness of Verdantis. Though we have lost personnel there before, we will yet again attempt to document these lands.

Release 115 Patch Notes
Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 115 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R115 is a polish month. Content, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R116 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 115!

Crafting, Decoration, Gear, & Inventory Item Changes:

 * All cloaks can now be placed on partitions and wall sections. SOTA-69778
 * Fixed the fire dancer outfit disappearing in water.
 * Fixed typos in couriers’ undelivered letter. SOTA-71474
 * The Jotungrund Runestone now uses the correct decoration object.
 * Fletchers of New Britannia have gone through a re-training course to produce arrows that are more consistent in weight. SOTA-71384
 * Reviewed all keys; updated and fixed several. Some keys that couldn’t be destroyed now can be and it’s likely they can be reacquired from the original source (which is always true if they are needed for a quest). Common, non-quest keys acquired through combat may now be sold to merchants for a very small gold value. Examples of updates include: the Tartarus Treasure Room key now pointing to the proper deco object, the Key of Nothing for Boreas Colossus can now be destroyed and reacquired from the original source once a day, and the locked prison wagons in Blood River Outskirts can now be unlocked with a new Fragile Longfall Cage Key and may sometimes hold dead bodies with loot.
 * All shopkeepers are now able to be patterned. SOTA-70163
 * The Wizard’s Hat can now be re-shaped. SOTA-70588
 * The Ancient Xenossian Winged Plate Helmet Eternal Pattern can now be used to reshape helms. SOTA-70525
 * The dyable tuxedo patterns will now apply. SOTA-70004
 * Eternal heraldry patterns can now be removed from heraldry thrones with pattern removers. SOTA-70258
 * For those who don’t throw back the tiny ones; the smallest of the Arapaima are now mountable. SOTA-71252
 * Balanced inputs on red, yellow, orange, and pink crafted dye recipes so gold returns in selling the dyes to NPC merchants are even. SOTA-71343
 * The Croctails recipe is no longer discoverable nor teachable.
 * User Interface, Store Information, Inky, & Lua Changes:


 * Added debuff icons that were missing for summoned fire, air, and ice elemental attacks. SOTA-70623
 * Corrected date and version on the Commercial TOS.
 * Fixed typo in Guild Leader change message. SOTA-71480
 * Corrected name of Snowy Owl upon delivery from Crown Store. Pre-existing owls will be fixed by data migration in the future.
 * Added a sound preview button to wax cylinders in the crown store.
 * Adjusted Gossamer Cloak image size in the Crown Store.
 * A silver automaton overlooks Ardoris


 * Adjusted the character limits of the premium and pledge conversationalists: the premium and pledge versions intended for more advanced functions will now allow for up to 60K characters. The craftable conversationalists intended for basic scripts will continue to be capped at 2K characters.
 * Completed an audit of conversationalists to ensure only the craftable ones are set to the low content limit and, as a result, updated all the mini automatons as well as the original pledge automaton to the 60K character limit.

World and Quest Changes:

 * Overworlds: All cross-continent galleon teleporters now have compass marker discoveries. SOTA-71483
 * Novia: Fixed the position of several floating and sunken POT landmarking props. SOTA-71499
 * Outskirts: Enabled rain visuals.
 * Plains Road Encounter: Moved an inaccessible ore node. SOTA-71457
 * Sieges: Avatars with 36 or more arcane catalysts will be able to turn in 36 for their daily quest instead of only 18, for double the experience and gold. SOTA-71436
 * Aerie, Ardoris, and Resolute: Improved the logic used by these devotional caretakers for their “visit the shrines” quest. SOTA-71489
 * Aerie: Updated the items assigned to anti-theft protection. Moved a floating bowl to the ground in the cat lady house and added alternative cat types. SOTA-71470, SOTA-71471
 * Ardoris: Improved the logic which both Caravaggios Wolf and Stephanie Broadmeadow use to archive their “collect 5 paintings” quests.
 * Ardoris: Fixed a typo in Simone von Eglinger’s responses.
 * Broken Echoes Silver Mine: Fixed several stuck spots. SOTA-71458
 * Celestis: Added missing elements into a compound interactive script on the stage elevator.
 * Celestis: The combat merchant now has a proper NPC title and personal name. SOTA-71500
 * The Clink: Updated Warden Tully’s response for his own name. SOTA-71236
 * Crooked Shank: Fixed typos in Erno’s responses. SOTA-71493
 * Eastreach Gap: Adjusted the path of the tornado.
 * Etceter: Updated the collision on several stairs to help avoid having to jump over the top steps. SOTA-71469
 * Highvale: Removed a redundant choice from the scene entry menu. SOTA-71468
 * Highvale: Fixed a typo on a grave marker. SOTA-71460
 * Highvale Outskirts: Updated Gilbert the merchant’s logic so you can’t block conversation with him while you need to talk to him for a quest.
 * Highvale Outskirts: Update Captain Burnes’ responses for consistency. SOTA-71444
 * Highvale Outskirts: Moved an inaccessible garlic node. SOTA-71459
 * Kingsport: Fixed an item in a crate that was clipping through its walls. SOTA-71450
 * K’rul: Moved floating “splash” effects back to the center of the lava field parent. SOTA-71449
 * Middle Downs: Fixed a stuck spot at one of the mounds. SOTA-71484
 * Owl’s Head: Added ladders to some of the towers attached to castle walls in the city. SOTA-71454
 * Owl’s Head: Mary, the College of Arms registrar, now points to her correct conversation. SOTA-71453
 * Owl’s Head: Joseph, Dorothy, and Rickard now use alternative “beggar” models.
 * Owl’s Head: Bartender Thomas Strongbeard once again sells mutton meals. SOTA-71451
 * Owl’s Head: Tanderly now mentions Joseph has an exclusive contract to sell his family’s pecan nuts. SOTA-71452
 * Port Harmony: Corrected a double-negative in Watersmith Annora Jenkins’s responses. SOTA-71491
 * Port Harmony: Hollow wooden ducks may appear in random locations.
 * Spectral Mines: Updated the path grid. SOTA-71466
 * Tartarus: Added two Obsidian Elf spawn locations. Adjusted the positions of many ore nodes. SOTA-71446
 * Tower of the Shuttered Eye: The beds used by skeletons can no longer be used by Avatars. SOTA-71488
 * Ulfheim: Regenerated the path grid. SOTA-71467
 * Created map for Blackblade Foothills.
 * Created map for Far Hinterlands.
 * Created map for North Hinterlands.
 * Created map for North Shattered Hills.
 * Created map for Opalis Ruins.
 * Created map for Oracle Colossus.
 * Created map for Sanctus Spine.
 * Created map for South Hinterlands.
 * Created map for South Shattered Hills.
 * Created map for Sunless Barrens.
 * Floating obsidian shards encircling a desert player-owned town.

Player-Owned Town Changes:

 * Jamestown: Added new Crossroads Village south of Brittany in Novia.
 * The Port: Added new town south of Solace Bridge Outskirts in Novia.
 * POT templates Forest 01b and Forest 01c: Removed redundant block near corner of docks. SOTA-71448
 * PvP POTs: Any POT that is set as PvP will now have floating Obsidian shards floating outside their perimeter (or on the cavern ceiling for Underground PvP POTs). SOTA-39004

Player-Owned Dungeon and Basement Changes:

 * Added deco surfaces and removed spiderwebs from the Sword of Midras Library dungeon room entrance halls. SOTA-68125
 * Lava Pool Stairs should now place correctly in Player Dungeons and Basements. SOTA-71463
 * Fixed deco colliders missing in stairways of Town Arena and City 3-Story Stone basements.

Release 115 Subscriber Login Rewards
Block the sun and make your own light: The Rewards Program login items for Release 115 are a Beach Umbrella (which has newly-expanded sizing and placement options), a pair of Gold Candlesticks, and a set of 2023 Cupcakes.

A red-and-white beach umbrella placed on a picnic table on a sandy beach.

A display table with a platter of cupcakes and two gold candlesticks on it.

Subscribers to the Rewards Program must log in during Release 115 to receive these special login items.

July Login Reward
In honor of Lord British’s Birthday, log in during the month of July and you’ll receive half a dozen each of slices of Lord British Birthday Cake and of Fireworks (Red-White-Blue Missiles).

Fireworks over Brittany

Crown Store Updates
New in the crown store today:

Replenishing Lord British Birthday Cake 2023 A Replenishing Lord British Birthday Cake 2023 on a display table with a platter of the cupcakes it produces. …and for July 14th:

Gold Candlesticks (Set of 4) Four Gold Candlesticks on a crate surrounded by other valuables of dubious provenance in a mine. The Summer Seasonal store items will be available until Monday September 25th:

List of Summer Seasonal items: The Lord British store items will be available until Friday August 4th:

Upcoming Release Dates
Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums. The upcoming 2023 Release Schedule is as follows:


 * This Release 115 – June 29 (Polish)
 * Release 116 – July 27 (Content)
 * Release 117 – August 31 (Polish)
 * Release 118 – September 28 (Polish)
 * Release 119 – October 26 (Content)

Additional Information

 * Player Guide
 * Known Issues
 * Quick Reference Card