Release 123

RELEASE 123, FEBRUARY 29, 2024

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 123 goes live February 29th at 10:30 AM CST.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 123 (R123), we offer a little space and a lot of water.

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.

Features

Build a Bazaar With the New Market Lots!

A busy market street between white castle walls with many small shops on both sides, with wagons, streetlights, pennants, a fountain, and guards, shoppers, and stray cats crowding the area. Towers, an air balloon, and a dragon can be seen in the far distance past the walls.

Sometimes you want just small space with no home for an open-air shop. A nice tent, a few stalls… portable and low-maintenence! Our new Market Lots are 10 by 8 meters: the same frontage and just a smidge over half the depth of a Row Lot.

A shot looking down at a street with 14 variously-decoed Market Lots along its length, with the footprint of each lot shown in green.

Here is a sample market showing a variety of possible uses:

Player Owned Town Market Lot released!!

Youtube Video

After a few internal adjustments to some that almost fit, all but the largest tents will fit on a Market Lot, as well as all the craftable stalls and awnings, albeit with some player resizing needed for the larger ones.

• Tent (Craftable)
• Welcome Tent
• Small Canvas Tent (Craftable)
• Medium Canvas Tent
• Small Elven Tent (Craftable)
• Medium Elven Tent
• Small Knight’s tent
• Large Knight’s Tent
• Great Knight’s Tent
• Triangle Kobold Tent (Craftable)
• Small Kobold Tent (Craftable)
• Medium Kobold Tent
• Virtue Oktoberfest Tent
• Wide Market Tent
• Blue Stall Awning (Craftable)
• Green Stall Awning (Craftable)
• Red Stall Awning (Craftable)
• Barn Stall (Craftable)
• Tall Barn Stall (Craftable)
• Thin Barn Stall (Craftable)

…as well as a miscellany of sheds, gazebos, pavilions, wells, and outhouses. Some decorated lot examples are below:

A tan awning holding some crates and hay bales sits behind a semicircle of nice wooden counters covered with boxes of various fruits and vegetables, with a scarecrow guarding tomato plants in the far corner. I'm sure he keeps the crows off the cash register, too.

A half dozen barn stalls shelter many stacked tables holding boxes, maps, fireworks, a birdcage, an aether vibration amplifier, some wax cylinders, a Xenossian shield, some small statues and glassware, and other assorted fripperies. Find neat things you don't need today!

A riot of baskets, box crates, handbaskets, cylindrical baskets, and a large round wooden table with flat baskets and more handbaskets fill a market lot, with an orange rug and a pair of green free-standing banners adding a splash of color. A merchant in a long brown coat stares across the street, not noticing the orange tabby cat who is clearly contemplating jumping into a handbasket. Never trust orange tabbies.

A Perennial Coast peasant tends a market lot holding potted an assortment of potted plants: azaleas, elder bushes, a large flowering elderberry, a few heliotropes, and a row of royal elderberries. Good thing there's a public well across the street!

A shopkeeper in a snazzy purple vest stands in front of five wooden walls that display framed maps and paintings under a large wood awning with a kobold chandelier.

A pair of wooden stages keep many rustic cabinets off the bare ground. The cabinets have on them (and presumably in them) a couple dozen boxes of fireworks of all types, a cash register, and a yellow supply bundle. A red pennant draws attention to the shop from a distance.

A city kobold has brought glassware from Grusk to display under a pair of triangular kobold tents: five bookshelves hold many empty clear bottles and flasks of various shapes lit by a water lantern atop a large stone block.

A fancy Perennial Coast merchant fronts a shop of goldfish; three large rectangular tanks are sheltered by barn stalls and several small tables hold tabletop fishtanks and fishbowls. A tan marble bench and some potted bamboo grace the edges.

A shopkeeper in a magenta dress gazes at two picnic tables covered with confection and treat platters, petit fours, cupcakes, and a sliced cake on a raised stand. A pair of tall pink banners stand behind them and the lot is closed with an ornate post and rope fence.

A Baron Servant looks out from a wide market tent filled with Tansu chests bearing tabletop statues. More are displayed on Celestian altar tables at the front of the tent and frosted lamps light the interior.

An open stone well has a few abandoned buckets scattered near it. A wooden bench and a large ankh make a spot for quiet contemplation. Rough stone fences bracket the lot. A poor peasant woman looks out from a weedy area in the corner.

A woman in a long blue coat stands in front of an awning with rows of tables and benches under it. Potted flesh flayers are on the table to keep down the bugs. A large cauldron bubbles at the corner of the lot, with a table with bowls and a ladle behind it and a dishwashing area in the corner. A good cheap bowl of soup would be a nice thing to give the poor woman at the public well.

A purple awning covers some rough tables: one with an assortment of steaks and sausages on it, one with a cash register and a cloth sack, and a pair in the rear with many large haunches and a cleaver. A sketchy-looking man with a knife in his belt smiles in front of the shop.

This picture shows two shops: a red stall awning with three tables of books bracketed by lion statues, an open book on a display stand, and a cash register, and a large white pavilion with a blue tile roof holding an oval display table with many pieces of clothing on it. A pair of dressed mannequins stand on small stone plinths in front of the pavilion. A brass tailor sign juts between the two shops from the ivy-covered white stone wall behind them.

Un... Claimed... Freight! A stern man in a brown coat stands at the door of an elven tent filled with unmarked crates. If he knows what's in them, he's not telling.

Market Lot decoration limits are:

• Exterior Objects: 100
• Exterior Lights: 4
• Containers: 20
• NPCs: 1
• Basements and Dungeons: None!

A 10-pack of Market Lot Property Markers is available for Governors and Stewards in the Crown Store.

As one may always claim a lot with any deed that size or above, and as these lots will be created only by placing Property Markers in Player-Owned Towns, all existing deeds can claim these as they are the new smallest size. However, taxed deeds for Market Lots can be purchased in the Crown Store and upgraded to tax free for Crowns of the Obsidians:

• Deed, Market (POT, Taxed): 1,100 COTOs
• Deed, Market (POT, Tax Free): 2,100 COTOs

We hope you find this new lot size useful and inspiring!

Live Free on the Sea: POT Tax Free Water Deeds

An empty City Water Lot, highlighted in green to show its full size, is displayed next to a Baron's Galleon docked farther down the shore.

Village, Town, City, Keep, and Castle POT Tax Free Water Deeds are now available through upgrade of existing non-Founder deeds with Crowns of the Obsidians. You don’t have to be a pirate to hoodwink the tax man, though it helps!

The upgrade values for these new deeds are:

Deed	COTOs
Deed, Village (POT, Tax Free, Water)	5,500 COTOs
Deed, Town (POT, Tax Free, Water)	11,000 COTOs
Deed, City (POT, Tax Free, Water)	22,000 COTOs
Deed, Keep (POT, Tax Free, Water)	44,000 COTOs
Deed, Castle (POT, Tax Free, Water)	88,000 COTOs

Note that the only Water Keep and Castle Lots currently available in Player Owned Towns are the baked-in ones; placeable Property Markers for these sizes are soon to be created but, unlike the baked-in ones, will not be toggle-able to an island for land home placement.

Events

None

News

Latest News and Q&A January Livestream

The post-release Community Livestream is Friday, March 1st at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Stephen “Ravalox” Reinen and other members of the development team for a 1-hour community livestream!

To enter the prize drawings, type “chaos in the clover” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website Add-On Store.

• Twitch/shroudoftheavatar
• Add-On Store

Release 123 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 123 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R123 is a polish month. Polish, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R124 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 123!

Crafting, Decoration, Gear, & Inventory Item Changes:

Several coffins and urns are scattered around a public fountain in Spite.

• The deco teleporter to the Compendium of Pain and Suffering will no longer interfere with the spawning and navigation of pets, NPCs, or players attempting to use furniture in their vicinity. SOTA-67308
• Haystacks decorations (both small and large) will no longer interfere with the spawning and navigation of pets, NPCs, or players attempting to use furniture in their vicinity. SOTA-68200
• Removed mesh collision from Young Mounted Plesiosaurus. The adult may receive similar adjustment after some testing. SOTA-69248
• Adjusted collision on the Castle Atos Teleporter. SOTA-71921
• Adjusted the rain collision on the Red Stall Awning to stop errors.
• Adjusted the Tavern Counter (Flipped) to stop errors. SOTA-70042
• Hid visible deco surfaces on the Fancy Storage Shed and the Stone Five-Story Wizard’s Tower. SOTA-70740, SOTA-71908
• Modified the material for the crafted moondial base to display a solid bottom. SOTA-71394
• Reduced the shininess of the existing Clover Pavers and adjusted the texture to make the clover more recognizable.
• Made smaller scaling available to a few tents that almost fit on a Market Lot.
• Made larger scaling available to the crafted Tent and the similar Welcome Tent.
• Made the Renaissance Bedroom Dresser and Tall Bedroom Dresser resizable. SOTA-71822
• Added vertical rotation capability to Bandit Spear. SOTA-71812
• Fixed the appearance of Gentleman’s Riding Leggings when worn by female characters. SOTA-71614
• Removed extra fingers from male Elven Elite Archer Bracers. I guess they weren’t useful for archery? SOTA-68944
• Disabled non-functional dye slots on Leather Guard Boots. SOTA-71616
• Disabled non-functional dye slots on Fortified Cloth Gloves. SOTA-71889
• Normalized bound health and focus potion and unicorn poison names and fixed a typo in the poison’s description.
• Normalized Fortified and Epic Cloth Leggings’ and their recipes’ names. SOTA-70771
• Added a description with useful info on deco placement to Planting Areas.
• Corrected Bloodstained Map #6 to show its hint in Runic.
• Made many older, low-durability pieces of crafted clothing masterworkable and enchantable, as the newer high-durability versions are. (They don’t have the durability to do anything significant with it, but they are now consistent.) SOTA-71875
• The Faerie Belt is no longer enchantable or masterworkable. (It wasn’t before, either, but it was possible to try.) SOTA-70162
• Enabled salvage of Candelabra like similar looted lighting. SOTA-71879
• Enabled salvage of Tin Foil Hats. SOTA-71559
• Enabled salvage of Head Bandages. SOTA-71589
• Changed the Judgewig to be salvageable at the tailoring table instead of the blacksmithing table. SOTA-71557
• Created a new recipe book category under smelting for all the artifact combining recipes and moved them into it. SOTA-71807
• Moved the recipe for the warlock chain into the rings and amulets section of the blacksmithing recipes and the recipes for its components into the components section.
• Moved the recipe for burial coffin into the decorations section of the carpentry recipes.
• Made many crafting ingredients (mostly cooking ones) show as valid (white) on their appropriate station(s) and only their appropriate station(s). SOTA-70773
• Made artifacts that can be combined show as valid (orange) ingredients on smelting tables. SOTA-69780
• Made unrevealed treasure maps show as valid (white) on alchemy stations only and revealed treasure maps show as valid (white) on no stations at all.

User Interface, Store Information, Inky, & Lua Changes:

• The green nameplates of hostiles well below your level will no longer turn cyan when night vision is used. SOTA-71904
• Added earth specialization effects to the skill description for Torpor. SOTA-70048
• Added information on pugilism to the descriptions of the skills it affects. SOTA-71877
• Made all the year-specific cupcakes show on the consumables tab of the inventory. SOTA-70912
• Changed outdated text in lot stones’ home picker UI that referred to House Deeds.
• Fixed the icon size for the six creature essences. SOTA-71905
• Fixed a typo in the Ancient Sextant’s feedback.
• Updated the description of the existing Property Marker set in the Crown Store to note that Market Property Markers are not included.
• Updated the store name for Scott Jones Painting to add his alias. SOTA-71917
• Fixed some blurry and/or misproportioned store images.

World and Quest Changes:

Dark Archlapin of Death and Destruction

• Seasonal Monsters: The Envy Angel will go dormant and the Arch Lapin will return on March 16th.
• The Path of the Oracle: Added extra logic to ensure Speak with the Oracle tasks properly archive when complete. SOTA-71909
• Multiple Control Points: Corrected a typo in the Mages of Mystery’s cost for crossing to the opposite side of the scene. SOTA-71910
• Multiple Scenes: Crates you can sit upon now display the name “Upturned Crate.” SOTA-71903
• Aerie: Fixed a pair of shields in armor shops that were rotated and clipping into counters. SOTA-71892
• Approach to the Shuttered Eye: Fixed a stuck spot. SOTA-71895
• Ardoris: Fixed a typo in the help mouseover for the “Defeat all 4 Anti-Love Cabalists” task. SOTA-71888
• Blood River Outskirts: Updated the logic used to remove the “Collect Scalps for Vigilantes” task from the UI. SOTA-71871
• Desolis: Samuel Ruf no longer implies he has a quest. SOTA-71923
• The Epitaph: Removed door functionality from a fallen wooden door. SOTA-71907
• Ferig’s Battle Camp: Updated the logic used by the guards for when they say ambient barks. SOTA-71880
• Harvest: Greatly simplified Guard Stella’s responses.
• Port Harmony: Players saying “name” to Preston the News Hawker will now properly unlock his name. SOTA-71913
• Port Harmony: The papers on the front desk in the town hall no longer have anti-theft protection. SOTA-71912
• Port Harmony: Fixed a typo in one of Corbyn Sallow’s “valve” responses. SOTA-71914
• Solace Bridge Outskirts: Fixed a typo in one of Velma’s “rumors” responses. SOTA-71911
• Created map for Elysian Ruins.
• Created map for Elysian Plains.
• Created map for Naryad Moors.
• Created map for Norgard Fens. SOTA-59610
• Created map for Rumor Peaks.
• Created map for Whispering Woods.

Sales, Rewards and Crown Store

Sales and Bonus Events

From March 15th through end-of-day March 21st:

• Crown Store sales will be 30% off.
• Crowns of the Obsidians will be 20% off.
• Deed Upgrades will be 20% off.

Release 123 Subscriber Login Rewards

Be cheered by the first sprouts of green after a long winter. The Rewards Program login items for Release 123 are a set of Sparse Blooming Clover Pavers and a pair of Potted Shamrocks!

• (See Rewards Program)

A red-headed peasant woman looks suspiciously at a happily-oblivious red Rottweiler sitting in a slightly patchy field of blooming clover.

Three iron cauldrons, filled with potting soil and a riot of shamrocks, placed against a stone wall on a patch of clover.

Subscribers to the Rewards Program must log in during Release 122 to receive these special login items.

March Login Reward

Keep a little green on your desk when you’re trapped inside by a stack of paperwork: each account that logs in during the month of March will receive a one-time gift of a Tabletop Potted Shamrocks.

A tiny iron cauldron sprouting some young shamrocks and a nice porcelain cup of tea are the only pleasant things on a desk covered with books and paperwork. Those kobolds are sticklers for documentation!

Crown Store Updates

New in the crown store for today’s release:

• Market Property Marker 10-Pack
• Deed, Market (POT, Taxed)

A shot looking down at a street with 14 variously-decoed Market Lots along its length, with the footprint of each lot shown in green.

• Blooming Clover Pavers

A red-headed peasant woman cheers a red Rottweiler playing with a ball in a solid field of blooming clover.

• Small Very Sparse Blooming Clover Pavers

Three small islands of blooming clover border a larger patch.

• Gothic Bookcase Cabinet

A large dark brown wooden cabinet with several open shelves and a pair of closed alcoves hold many books, a jewelry box, a statue of Sequanna, and a tabletop blossoming cherry tree in a storefront row home overlooking a river.

• Dark Gothic Bookcase Cabinet

A large black wooden cabinet with several open shelves and a pair of closed alcoves hold many books, a green jewelry box, a green wrasse in a fishbowl, and a frosted tablelamp in a green marble dungeon.

The pack of Leprechaun Bowler Hats has been split up:

• Leprechaun Bowler Hat

A grey-haired man sports a green bowler and tuxedo as he gazes out from the Harvest wind farm. You'd think the people of Harvest would farm things that can be... well, harvested.

• Leprechaun Bowler Hat w/ Shamrock

A dark-haired man sports a green bowler with a jaunty shamrock in the brim and a green tuxedo as he makes his way through metropolitan downtown Harvest.

…and an addition to go with this month’s bug fixes to the existing haystacks:

• Medium Haystack

Three medium haystacks along a rural Harvest roadside.

…for March 1st:

• Tabletop Potted Shamrocks 3-Pack

A tiny iron cauldron sprouting some young shamrocks and a nice porcelain cup of tea are the only pleasant things on a desk covered with books and paperwork. Those kobolds are sticklers for documentation!

…and for March 8th:

• Potted Shamrocks 3-Pack

Three iron cauldrons, filled with potting soil and a riot of shamrocks, placed against a stone wall on a patch of clover.

• Sparse Blooming Clover Pavers

A red-headed peasant woman looks suspiciously at a happily-oblivious red Rottweiler sitting in a slightly patchy swath of blooming clover.

The Valentine’s Day store items will be available through Monday March 4th:

List of Valentine’s Day items:

• 2016 Cupid Ensemble
• 2016 Cupid Heart Cloak
• 2016 Valentine Hearts Cloak
• Blank Valentine’s Day 2016 Card 5-Pack
• Blank Valentine’s Day 2017 Card 5-Pack
• Blank Valentine’s Day 2019 Card 5-Pack
• Breathe Hearts Emote
• Double Smoke Heart Emote
• Heart Hot Tub
• Heart Top Hat
• Heart-Shaped Footstool
• Heart-Shaped Spear
• Smoke Heart Emote
• Triple Smoke Heart Emote
• Valentine’s Day Gift Boxes 2017 3-Pack
• Valentine’s Day Gift Boxes 2018 3-Pack
• Valentine’s Day Gift Boxes 2019 3-Pack

Although there are not currently enough items to make a whole new category for them, a few St. Patrick’s Day items can be found in other categories (Wearables and Outdoor Decorations) through Monday May 6th:

List of St. Patrick’s Day items:

• Garden Leprechaun
• Leprechaun Bowler Hat 2-Pack
• Leprechaun Hat
• Pot o’ Gold

To celebrate his birthday, the Darkstarr Rares store items will be available through Monday May 27th:

List of Darkstarr items:

• Darkstarr Basement Entrance Eternal Pattern
• Darkstarr Chaos Throne
• Darkstarr Chaos Throne (Reverse Colors)
• Darkstarr Clock Tower
• Darkstarr Clock Tower (Reverse Colors)
• Darkstarr Fur Collared Cloak
• Darkstarr Pavers
• Darkstarr Shield
• Darkstarr Shield Pattern Pack
• Lord British vs Darkstarr Battle Banner
• Mosh Emote

The Spring Equinox store items will be available from Monday March 25th until Sunday May 5th:

List of Spring Equinox items:

• Brown Bunny Ears & Slippers Set
• Bunny Ears & Slippers Set
• Decorative Dyeable Egg Pack
• Flower Crown
• Lepus Mask 2017
• Lepus Mask 2018
• Silver & Gold Lepus Mask
• White Lepus Mask
• Rabbit Tailed Bodice Ensemble
• Replenishing Confetti Eggs Basket 2016
• Replenishing Confetti Eggs Basket 2017
• Replenishing Confetti Eggs Basket 2018
• Replenishing Confetti Eggs Basket 2019
• Spring Fountain w/ Floating Candles

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 2024 Release Schedule is as follows:

• This Release 123 – February 29 (Quality of Life)
• Release 124 – March 28 (Quality of Life)
• Release 125 – April 25 (Content)
• Release 126 – May 30 (Quality of Life)
• Release 127 – June 27 (Quality of Life)

Additional Information

• Player Guide
• Known Issues
• Quick Reference Card

See Also

• Release 121
• Release 122
• Release 123
• Release 124
• Release 125
• Release Features 2024
• New Britannian Calendar