With the Pre-Alpha release 17 starting this Thursday, player towns are being introduced into the MMORPG Shroud of the Avatar for the first time.
In a sandbox MMO, many players naturally want to have their own virtual property as well. This includes houses, mage towers, castles, and in the case of Shroud of the Avatar, entire cities. The world-building with a world map and instantiated areas allows the developers at Portalarium to implement such towns relatively easily. On the world map, these are simply represented with a few buildings, and this “scene” can then be entered and explored from a third-person perspective.
The first player town being introduced is PaxLair. Player towns are created according to predefined patterns and are usually managed by a player – often the purchaser of the town. They set the rules that apply here. For example, what type of buildings can be constructed by other players and whether PvP is allowed. The town manager can also charge taxes. PaxLair will serve as a test case to determine how well the planned concept of player towns functions in Shroud of the Avatar. Many more fans have purchased a player town, and these will gradually be added to the world.
Player towns are not exactly cheap and must be purchased for real money. The smallest at 12,600 m² already costs 750 US dollars. Depending on size and number of building sites, this increases up to 5,000 dollars for a large city with 83,400 m²! Otherwise, you can also buy houses and building sites in SotA with in-game currency – however, those who pay real money will receive exclusive houses or preferential site selection. If you want a basement, it costs extra. The prices depend on the size of the property and the type of house. But the business is thriving. Many open building sites in the world are already occupied, and there will also be several player towns in SotA.
If you want to learn more about the game, we recommend our two-part special on Shroud of the Avatar. It is one of the most promising indie MMORPGs being released in the foreseeable future.
