Texas-based developer Portalarium has announced they’re finally ready for the full release of Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues, their Ultima Online spiritual successor led by the same mind behind its progenitor – Richard Garriott.
The crowdfunded MMORPG will launch on March 27th across Windows PC, Mac, and Linux – over three years since it first launched on Steam Early Access.
Portalarium has been prepping up the game for its full release with a bunch of new character customization options, a housing market, multiplayer modes like PvP mechanics in a persistent world, a thriving economy, and even a single-player offline mode.
There’s also a free trial available on the game’s official website that offers “a large amount of gameplay from the base game.”
Here’s a rundown on the game:
Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues is a new type of third person fantasy RPG that combines a single player narrative with a sandbox MMO. It is being created by a team that includes: Richard “Lord British” Garriott the creator of the Ultima series, Starr Long the original Director of Ultima Online, and Tracy Hickman the author of the beloved Dragonlance Novels and Dungeons & Dragons modules.
Key Features:
- Episodic Content: Shroud of the Avatar will consist of five episodes that will tell a series of virtue based stories created by Richard Garriott and Tracy Hickman. All supported by a series of prequel novels starting with Blade of the Avatar. Forsaken Virtues is the first episode (this is what you are purchasing access to).
- Single Player Offline Mode: Players will adventure through over 40 hours of story in an interactive world where their choices have consequences, ethical paradoxes give them pause, and they play a vital part in weaving their own story into the immersive world and lore surrounding them.
- Selective Multiplayer Modes: If you want to go through the story online you can play with everyone in a single world with three different online modes (Single Player, Friends, and Open). All items available in these multiplayer modes are also available in single player offline via purchase in in-game gold or other resources.
- Classless Character System: Vast customization options with hundreds of skills and spells in over 20 different skill trees.
- Skillful Combat: A new way to prepare and fight in an RPG by building custom decks of skills and dynamically activating them in combat.
- PVP: Consensual with Open PVP flags, zones, and Guild Warfare.
- Player Housing: Non instanced, finite, and embedded in the world with multiple group living options.
- Player Driven Economy: Deep crafting system where the best items are made by players and player items are the main source of loot found in the game.
- Pay Once to Play: No subscription fees. Each episode is a one time fee and everything in the game can be purchased with in game gold that can be earned (except for some exclusive backer rewards).
- Social: Full Guild System, Highly Active Community and Player Owned Towns.
- Crowd Sourced & Funded: Support the project by purchasing items in the add-on store or participate in telethon stretch goal exclusive item events! These online enabled add-ons and pledge items are also available to all players in offline mode.
- Open Development: Players help shape the game by giving feedback on monthly early access releases, videos, weekly updates, blog postings, forums, chat, etc.