SotA Release 22 Update - Fishing and Playable Musical Instruments

[Inseril]

The Devs recently announced two highly anticipated systems Fishing and Playable Musical Instruments that will be added in Release 22 which will come out at the end of this month.  The following comes directly from the Shroud of the Avatar Website (I will post the link at the end)

 

Fishing in Release 22 (Finally!)

 

I cannot wait for players to start fishing in Release 22! Our goal with fishing is to give players that same feeling they had fishing in Ultima Online. For R22, we are working on getting the basic functionality working in game that we can build upon in later releases. In R22, Fishing will work in any area where the water is deep enough to swim. For now, all water is the same (no salt vs. freshwater) and shallow water (swamps) cannot be fished in, but water types and associated fish types will get added in later releases.

 

To fish, you need bait in your inventory and your fishing pole equipped (each cast uses 1 bait). You then use your “Cast” ability to send the bait/hook/bobber to a selected target in the water (similar to how we target spells like Fireball). As soon as you cast your line, a timer starts and while that timer runs you have a chance to catch a fish (or maybe a boot!). If the timer runs out before you catch anything you have to recast. In R22 there will be three fish types and at least one cooking recipe for each (as well as Butchery recipes to clean and filet the fish).

 

Long term, we have tons of features we will be adding to fishing. Seasonality and time of day differences (dusk/dawn best times) will become important when you fish. Location will start to matter, as well as when we add different water types and associated fish types (catfish in the swamp), as well as hot spots where visible schools of fish increase your fishing chances. We also plan to factor in timing and reflexes so that watching your bobber and using your “Reel” skill will factor into your fish catching.

 

Competitive fishing and bragging rights will come into play when we add Trophy data to the fish you catch (which will record the size of each fish caught), and when we begin to add rare and elusive fish to be caught and mounted for display.

 

Musical Instruments

 

Rick “Chaox” Holtrop is pretty pumped about musical instruments making it into Release 22. Here’s what he had to say:

 

One of the most exciting features coming in Release 22 (most especially for a roleplayer like myself) are Musical Instruments that all backers will be able to play in the game.

 

Many of us here have long enjoyed the musical instruments available to players in games like “Lord of the Rings Online”. For that game in particular, the ability to not only play freeform but also play music from predefined files was a giant step forward in the ability to become a true bard.

 

 

Players can also type “/play ” to automatically play a song that they have loaded onto their local machine. There is a directory within the installation of the game where players can put files to make that happen. These files are generally known as ABC files, but we are also supporting the MML file type. Special thanks to community member, Eniko, who developed the ABC and MML code library that we are using in SotA. Eniko made the code library free (MIT licensed) to give back to the community. There’s more information about her code library on her forum post here. Eniko is also a game developer and has a game called MidBoss that is soon to be available on Steam [check out the details below in Recommended Games to Back].

 

Possibly one of the most exciting features within the entire Musical Instruments system is the ability for a group of players to have synchronous group play. Avatars can join a party of like-minded friends, choose the song from their machine’s loaded files to be synchronized to the group, and then the party leader will begin the playing for all members. In the game “Lord of the Rings Online” this was done to great effect – we hope to have some great performances in our world that can match that high bar.

 

While we plan to have many instruments available for players, as we launch Release 22 we plan to have two ready for everyone – the lute and the piano. This will allow us to begin proving out both types of instruments; equipped and stationary. It is within those two types that we will add much more over the coming releases leading up to launch. (We have quite the list of planned instruments, and we hope to see many of these in-game: drums, flutes, cellos, harmonicas, bagpipes, vuvuzelas, triangles, and more!)

 

I hope you’re as excited about this new system as I am! We’ve known this was coming since our Kickstarter times, and recently our Senior Programmer Justin “OneAndOnly” Gilbert began to give it his all. His hard work with the community to make this happen in a timely and precise manner was integral in bringing this game system to life. And speaking of community, Holt Ironfell and the Bards of Poet’s Circle plan to adapt some of their music that has been licensed for Shroud of the Avatar to ABC or MML format for bundling with the game!

 

I’ve been chomping at the bit to run around our world and play some of my favourite old RPG music for those who want to sit with me for a few moments and enjoy. I’ll see you at my local Circle of Stones in-game soon!

 

Rick “Chaox” Holtrop

 

https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?p=53145#more-53145

Edited September 5, 2015 by Inseril