Will Shroud of the Avatar feature multiplayer gameplay?

Yes, absolutely!

What kind of multiplayer? Is this an MMORPG?

Different kinds, depending on your preference. Shroud of the Avatar is a “selective multiplayer” game, meaning that you, the player, can tailor the online experience of the game to your liking, and interact online only with those you wish to.

Portalarium on Shroud of the Avatar’s multiplayer modes

Here are the ways we anticipate the game can be played:

Friends Play Online (FPO)
In friends play online, you only see people you have flagged as friends in the game and only they can see you. Like single player, this is just a server side filter. For those who prefer the quieter game with friends or maybe for those who prefer a more focused role playing experience, this lets you enjoy a more limited online experience. You can switch to SPO or OPO modes whenever you like while in a city or in the overland map.

Open Play Online (OPO)
In OPO players will see everyone that the server thinks they should see. This will not necessarily be all people in the area but should be people you care the most about based on what we believe is their relevance to you.

For the most part, OPO will feel like an MMO. Lots of social interaction options with friends and other players. We are trying to distinguish ourselves from traditional MMOs only in that, unlike a normal MMO players are frequently connected directly to each other instead of all data flowing through our servers. We believe this will provide numerous advantages to both players and our service, but does differ from a traditional MMO in that the upper limit of players simultaneously on one map may be restricted.

For more information, see this video:

Will there by PvP?

Yes, Shroud of the Avatar will offer PvP options. These are still being considered and designed, so more information is not available at present.

Will there be player housing?

Yes, absolutely!

Players can purchase non-instanced plots of land, upon which houses can be constructed. Housing plots come in approximately three tiers: village, town, and city. As one can imagine, village lots will tend to be smaller, and will support smaller homes overall. Town lots and homes will be somewhat larger, and city lots and homes larger still.

Those who back the game at various higher donation levels will receive village, town, or city plots and houses as pledge rewards. These reward lots will be considered “tax exempt”, and will not be subject to an upkeep tax payable via in-game virtual currency. Presently, village-level lots are also available for purchase via the Shroud of the Avatar store; lots purchased from this store will be subject to the upkeep tax.

For those who already own housing lots, the store also has various styles of houses for sale. Houses can be swapped on and off a housing lot; one house can be placed on a lot at any given time, and the remaining houses will evidently be stored as items in a player’s inventory. Guild ownership of houses is also being considered, although the exact mechanics for this have not been finalized.

Housing lots and houses can both be sold or exchanged between players, and players will be able to grant their friends access to their houses. This access is limited; guests will be able to interact with crafting stations, but will not be able to move or pilfer items and goods. Players will also be able to add NPC vendors to their lots, to sell crafted goods.