Review by long time Ultima Dragon "Sergorn Dragon"

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Corv, Aug 15, 2018.

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  1. Anpu

    Anpu Avatar

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    Actually this is very important. What is very specifically wrong with this review? Quite a number of things, and actually blatantly false.
     
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  2. Sir Cabirus

    Sir Cabirus Avatar

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    If you like a single player rpg in Baldur‘s Gate style then it is good.
     
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  3. Barugon

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    Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity 2 are quite good but they're a very different thing than Shroud of the Avatar.
     
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  4. Cordelayne

    Cordelayne Bug Hunter

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    We are completely off topic now, but I wanted to throw in my 3 cents, as it were. ;)

    I think the graphics are freaking awesome for an MMO. There are countless times in game I am like, "Whoa, this looks awesome!" I can't remember the name of the scene now, but it's the one in the forest and at night there are a bunch of wisps and fireflies. I love this scene. It is so pretty!

    On the other hand, if we are comparing shroud to single player games like the Witcher 3, then I think the game falls waaaaaaaaaay short. Playing the Witcher 3 on maxed out settings is breathtaking, especially in the Blood and Wine expansion. Just my opinion, for the little it is worth! :D
     
  5. Gorthyn

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    I think it's a fair review in many ways.

    Graphically the game looks good for an MMO in my opinion I suspect as others have said pethspe less so for a Single Player game. This is just one more legacy of trying to be both within the same game and ending up with a compromised version of each rather than doing one really well.

    The UI is truly horrible I have no idea what they were thinking coming up with something so ugly and basic in this day and age, it really does need changing. It makes the games look/graphics look far worse than they are actually are.

    I enjoy the game, have played it consistently for over a year now. There's elements that are fantastic, others which are really good but still far too much which is mediocre, unfinished or even downright ridiculous in terms of features and policy decisions.

    I still have hope that things will be turned around but for me the focus of the Devs still seems to be way off what needs to be done to fix things which is hugely frustrating for myself who really wants this game to flourish and succeed.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2018
  6. Helvig Ingvildsdottir

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    Indeed.

    I wish my money would go into polishing all the scenes, NPCs, quests, and items that we alrady have, plus the UI (not graphics, but usability!). Not into the creation of new maps, more empty POTs, and nice-to-have features like ridable mounts.
     
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  7. Fungus

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    I thought it was overall a fairly ok review, yes there are issues I disagree with, one of them for sure is GFX as I really like what port have done as the games progressed but other points are fully valid and go a long way to explaining the holes in population currently experienced.

    I agree with many other folks re the UI it's absolutely horrible and yes the NPC chat boxes are clunky at best, many features don't work as intended and nice to have features seem to be taking precedent over fundamental gaming mechanics.

    Having nothing for high end players to actively do leads to boredom grinding skills out, or not even bothering to log in; I'm playing other stuff mainly at present for that very reason, I'm rewarded to 'loggin in' with rng stuff opposed to 10k exp and 500g (zero wow factor there tbh) and the ability to do daily quests / writs / dungeons or pvp events that give me exp towards my characters advancement. There's also daily bonuses linked to the numerous world bosses for you and friends or guild to overcome as well as all the usual stuff SotA offer i.e grind, gather, craft, and roleplay for those inclined, there's even fishing with rares and all the fun that goes with that. Graphically it's not at all superior to SotA but game play and the 'something for everyone' wise it offers players current I can't see Port competing with for at least another 20-30 monthly releases and that's just in an a attempt to catch up to their current offering.

    My point; you've got to entice players to come back on a daily basis whatever the mechanism they deem appropriate as the markets swapped with comparable offerings, SotA doesn't do that in enough ways yet from a player experience and IMHO should have been release ready with this requirement built into their business plan.

    2.5 / 5 is spot on though I really wish it was 4.5 /5
     
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  8. evillego6

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    You are comparing visual appeal to graphics quality. One area where SotA falls short from those games is draw distance. Hair physics is another. When beards and hair look like they do, that is dated. It doesn't mean every single aspect of SotA is dated. The writer actually praises the visuals of the game given the budget.

    The game's visuals can look great while the graphics quality is dated.
     
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  9. Gix

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    That’s all fine and dandy but at least provide images that showcases similar elements.

    You’re giving me a bright daytime skybox to compare it to some sort of crafting area in some village... in the worst lighting condition (cloudy/rainy) possible.

    So I could talk about your character’s fresnel effect that inappropriately seems to reflect a daytime skybox... making it look like plastic... but I won’t because I know even SotA can do better.

    If you want to talk about skyboxes, Oblivion (from 2006) has way better skyboxes than SotA. The clouds are fluffy and the stars don’t look like a low res google image.

    At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how it looks on one particular system, what matters is how each game looks at their best.

    If you truly want to know why people call SotA graphics dated, I suggest you try again. Otherwise we can’t continue this discussion.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2018
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  10. Chrystoph Reis

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    Here's the thing... you can't do toe-to-toe comparison because Destiny does not offer the closeness or same screenshots. Also, you are comparing SPs to and MMO, the engines are going to be vastly different in their optimizations. You asked for screenshots, I provided. As I have not seen Oblivion on PC, I have no reference.

    Do what I did. Spin your games up and take screenshots. Provide what you are asking me for. I give you evidence, you poo poo it and ask for more without providing any of your own. I don't think the graphics are dated by ANY means. Different style-wise yes, dated hardly.
     
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  11. Xee

    Xee Bug Hunter

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    I can agree on a few of the items the OP mentioned.

    The Quest interfaces and dialog system needs to be polished and changed out. This is something being worked on for ep2 but this is part of the main part of the game that people interface with which is a major component that needs addressing.

    Quests and more quests. We need more quests that are more engaging. The story is a pretty good quest minus the few bugs and the journal/dialog system. The puzzles I have seen are a nice touch but there need to be more interactive quests.

    Graphics I am fine with, the game imo looks great. I do think that we could us an overhaul with some of the spell effects / particle effects.
    Animations are not bad, but perhaps this is where some have issues. Many of todays games are very realtime twitch based with smooth animations. Myself I am not bothered by the animations but I have some friends that do feel the combat is old tab target based which they are not a fan of which I can understand.

    I do think where we are today is where we should have been on release. it would have helped. Bug in the quests seem to be the biggest issues, as well stale journal entries. If I was to focus I would ensure the new player experience and the store quests are all working 100% that alone would make the player experience better. I also feel that each zone needs to have something that draws you into it. Hack and slash is ok, but rewards and reasons are just as important.

    that's my two bits.
     
  12. Brewton

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    Wow @Gix Good comparison. Looks like Sota is on some dated graphics or something. Reviewer was correct?
     
  13. Anpu

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    Amazing. Graphics are the real and only issue with the game....
     
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  14. Woodchuck

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    People who are saying graphics are dated are commenting about the style.
     
  15. Gix

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    Whenever or not he's "correct" I find is irrelevant; what matters is whenever or not people can relate to what he's saying... because THAT's how people will know if the review is useful to them or not. If "outdated graphics" doesn't bother you, then all is fine. If you're on the fence about playing/buying the game and you want the latest graphics, then that line of text will (understandably) make you reconsider.

    That's what reviews do. The more you have in common with the reviewer, the more likely the review will be useful. If both you and the reviewer agree that the graphics are bad and then he tells you "despite this, I highly recommend playing", then that means something.

    For the most part, I find SotA's graphics to be relatively pleasing but I won't pretend that it's amazing either.

    Just because there's a conversation related to the review's (and the general public's) opinion on the game's graphics, doesn't mean that graphics is the main issue with the game.

    It just means that people don't like how it looks.
     
  16. 2112Starman

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    This is probably the 10th one sentence posting I've seen from you that just says "There's may more wrong with this game" with no discussion or elaboration. That comes off very instigative and not very constructive.
     
  17. Serafina

    Serafina Portalarian Emeritus

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    Thanks for your feedback to those who provided it!
     
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