Early backers will be able to test the game from January 23 to 25.

Shroud of the Avatar Executive Producer Starr Long recently announced the start of the second testing stage of Portalarium's game.

All early backers of the game at First Responder / Adventurer level and above will gain access to the first pre-alpha stage (called "Release 2") Thursday January 23 at 10:30 AM Central Time. This special access will run until Saturday January 25 at 10:00 PM Central Time.

Several additions were made to the game since Release 1:

• Crafting is opened for testing with more than 100 recipes. It'll be, at first, focused on refining and production for smithing, tailoring, and carpentry. Other aspects for crafting like resource gathering, repair and enhance will be rolled out in subsequent releases.
• A Recipe Log allowing to track your recipes.
• Kingsport: a second municipality was added, along with a travel feature allowing to cross through a ring of stones to reach a new town.
• A list inventory
• Increased character customization
• Jumping: A quick tap on the spacebar barely lifts the player but holding down the spacebar allows the player to do a high jump.

"The beauty of developing a game in this fashion is that we are constantly in touch with our fans and backers as they provide us with invaluable feedback along each and every milestone," said Shroud of the Avatar Executive Producer Starr Long. "Our last release was well received and the community helped us identify processes and features that need improving. Ultimately it should result in a game that both the community and the team will be proud to release later this year."

"It's thrilling to have our backers and fans working so closely with us as we create this new game together," said Richard Garriott. "Every release opens up the world a bit more and provides us with another window into New Britannia. I personally want to thank each and every backer for his or her contribution to our effort and for their willingness to take this voyage with us. I look forward to adventuring with all of you in the months and years ahead!"

Guilhemette "Whilhelmina" Giacopazzi