Good day, Avatars! NEWS ON THE HOUR is broadcast at the top of every hour, Tuesday - Sunday, 24 hours a day. The news we report is available for reading on our Discord server under “Metaverse News.” 

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Written by Alleine Dragonfyre | Reported by Asclepius

Local News

On Saturday, October 14, 2023, from 10 am to 1 pm Pacific Time, head to the Isle of Light and fast-travel to the Abandoned Mine Fight and Fish dungeon. Seek out Flair Minamoto for a themed uniform, mandatory for participation. Presentation of your outfit to Flair grants your fishing license. Join a party based on your uniform and navigate trolls to reach fishing spots. Prizes await, even a random booby prize. Tune into Flair's Shroud of the Avatar stream and join the game's official Discord server. Shawn and Zealot2 have revived a valuable resource for Novian adventurers - ShroudoftheAvatar.net. The receipt system allows users to track transactions and in-game commerce. Sharing data is optional but can boost visibility for vendors across Novia.  ShroudoftheAvatar.net enables players to hunt down vendors, player statistics, and even loot data. The dynamic duo has big plans for the future, including raffles, contests, and expanded API data. Improvements include enhanced town stats, crafting insights, and even glimpses into the eccentric world of farmers and brewers. ShroudoftheAvatar.net is a player-run project not affiliated with the official game.

Lighbringer Isle hosts a monthly fishing contest that invites avid anglers to cast lines for the largest fish in the Isle’s salt and lava waters. Prizes will be revealed monthly for each group, with the ultimate Grand Prize awaiting the angler who nets the longest combination of lava and saltwater fish caught. Visit the Shroud of the Avatar official forums for info. 

Leading up to All Hallow’s Eve, from October 1-31, Vooch invites Shroud of the Avatar Community members for three immersive tours in Sleepy Hollow. Starting at the Tavern, the Sleepy Hollow General Tour has six key locations, revealing the tale of the Headless Horseman. 2017 Developer Grand Prize winner, the Sleepy Hollow Haunted House, features the original audio tour. Bring a portable aether amplifier for optimal immersion. The Haunted Inn, a tour in itself, unveils its story through bulletin board flyers. The Avatars Radio Halloween Masquerade Ball in Sleepy Hollow will be held Saturday, October 28th, 2-6 pm CST or 10 pm-2 am GMT/London time, in Vooch's Castle at Sleepy Hollow. We’ll be simulcasting on the radio with full tv coverage twitch.tv/avatarsradiorocks. Don your best costumes for in-game & real-life prizes!

More: Check out past Community Halloween parties hosted by Avatars Radio

Metaverse News

New World's inaugural paid expansion, "Rise of the Angry Earth," debuted, sparking heightened player interest, notably in mounts. Concurrent player counts doubled since September, hitting 54,498, as per SteamDB. While not matching 2022 peaks, this is notable given the $30 price. Amazon responded with new servers globally, focusing on the EU to alleviate queues. However, launch glitches emerged, prompting intermittent server outages.

As the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launch approaches, scalpers are selling beta codes on eBay for the open beta. Getting an MW3 beta code is straightforward, but scalpers are cashing in on players' desire for early access. The sole method for open beta entry is pre-ordering any MW3 edition. Scalpers rely on players seeking cheaper options. Caution is advised when purchasing from unofficial sources; official channels are recommended to avoid scams. Beta start times vary by region, with early access requiring a beta code from pre-orders, either digital or physical.

Medieval RPG "The Iron Oath" exits Early Access on November 2, 2023. Developed by Curious Panda Games and published by Humble Games, it originally entered Early Access in April last year. Version 1.0 concludes the campaign with more stories teased for the world of Caelum. The Expeditions Update introduces Named Gear, quests, and overworld encounters. Experimental controller support, quality-of-life changes to dialogue, and numerous bug fixes are part of the update.

In EVE Online, CCP Games' recent Pulse video highlights the ongoing Zarzakh Awakening event, a precursor to next month's Havoc expansion. Players engage in complex activities, exploring wormholes and Drifter sites to gather materials for constructing an offering to the Deathless faction in Zarzakh. Rewards include Pirate Faction LP for new pirate ship blueprints. The annual Crimson Harvest event begins on October 5th, offering varying rewards across space until November 6th. Fanfest also revealed EVE Vanguard, an upcoming FPS module with an Omega playtest in December, preceding Havoc's November release. Watch the Pulse video for more details.

"Silent Hill: Ascension" is confirmed for an October 31st launch, with a live premiere at 6:00 pm PT. Developed by Genvid Technologies, it merges streaming and gaming, allowing audience influence on characters and plot. The story features characters globally facing new Silent Hill monsters, threatened by recent murders and suppressed fears. Viewer decisions shape the narrative, leading to redemption or damnation. Daily live scenes vary based on audience actions. Other Silent Hill projects include a Bloober Team remake, "Silent Hill Townfall" by NoCode, and "Silent Hill F" set in 1960s Japan.

All unionized QA workers from Keywords Studios were laid off in late September after BioWare, the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf developer ended their contract in August. The QA workers, who joined United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union in June 2022, supported BioWare in playtesting and quality assurance. This historic vote marked the first games industry union in Canada. Despite being in bargaining with Keywords Studios, the workers were laid off, with minimal severance, following BioWare's announcement of 50 job cuts. The union has filed an employment standards complaint.

Today’s PC Game Releases

• [I] doesn't exist - a modern text adventure

• Armchair Commander

• Assassin's Creed Mirage

• Asagos

• Asterix & Obelix: Heroes

• Bang-On Balls: Chronicles

• Castle of Secrets

• Clown Art

• Cricket 24

• Dead Humanity

• Double Trouble

• FLOAT (HIFUMI)

• Folk Hero

• Galaxy Kart VR

• Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game

• Guardians Of Gaia: Guardians 8

• HEDRONS

• Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic

• Helle's Undersea City Project - Bringing Air to The Garden

• Idle Blocks

• Insanity's Grip

• Kingdom Shell

• Knight vs Giant: The Broken Excalibur

• Land of Crystals

• Monos: The Endless Tower

• My Little Universe

• Neon Fantasy: Cats

• Ooblets

• Recordbooks

• Small Aircraft

• Stop Dead

• Sword Art Online: Last Recollection

• TAGLINE

• The Bloodline

• The Godfeather : A Mafia Pigeon Saga

• The Sisters 2: Road to Fame

• Wargroove 2

• Zoria: Age of Shattering

ChatGPT was used to assist in writing today’s news.