Final Wipe and Lot Selection

Wow. That's a hell of a deviation from where we currently find ourselves. I wonder what the general reaction would have been with today's announcement had that information been shared with everyone, not just Dukes and LOTMs.

 

TEK you are categorizing brainstorming as a schedule. Please do not misrepresent what actually happened

 

Well...what did happen then? Why is this so different then the kickstarter? You were not there at the kickstarter but came afterwords maybe you can shed light on this? People say I should accept all these changes and that it is what everyone wanted but I'm not seeing why I should?

 

I'm saying this in general to no one in particular.

It seems like there's some kind of weird narrative that is being formed here. I'm all for giving feedback. If you don't like something that's great - say that. Explain why, that's helpful. But creating a narrative and then agreeing with yourself on that narrative, what good does that do? How does that help this game get made? How does that help this game get better?

I don't get it. If I don't like a game or the direction of development I just leave and go somewhere else. I don't haunt it by telling ghost stories and fables.

 

??

That is how Richard answered the question when one of the people at the round table asked when launch would be. How is that a misrepresentation? Is that not how that question was answered?

I realize things changed, priorities change etc but that answer was reasonable enough to those of us who were there. The company still has a chance to refocus to that idea and I hope you do.

 

This whole lot selection thing is kind of reminding me of the great migration from Felucca to Trammel.

I'm a little confused though, so the game won't be launching in Release 32, but is essentially "almost complete" or enough that we can start building houses, crafting, adventuring, socialising without any risk of wiping. Which is great. But how does this tie into the storyline? It seems like we (our characters) enter Novia... aimlessly and go about on our own whim until the storylines are added to the game? I don't quite understand the information given in release but it feels very disconnected. I'd rather play the story, then move onto the heavier social aspects. But at the same time I don't want to enter a fully crowded and settled Novia and have no ability to place a house of my own later on (as was the case in Ultima when I started playing 2-3 years after release and all the housing spots were gone).

 

Is there a way to adjust font-size? I've got a very large monitor now and prefer to game in the native resolution of 4k but I find the text and windows just a bit too small for my like when I switch from 1080p. Text doesn't change much, but just enough to be uncomfortable to read.

 

Actually you have a choice regarding the story.

You can either play the non-polished story that is available (minus the finale) until launch. Or you can wait until launch before you play when the entire story is available (including the finale). It's your choice entirely. But if you begin playing on July 28th, your progression is not going to be wiped at any point after that.

 

::Shadow casts wall of text spell::

I'm rather happy about the news, and view it as nothing but positive. I'm frankly a bit surprised about the sarcasm and occasional negative responses. Some of the deliberation doesn't make a lot of sense to me, and the only thing I can think of is people who don't want to play at all till they can (insert feature here), want to force everyone else to also have to wait?

Final wipe allows persistence and the ability to be more active, establish and balance economy, as well as hopefully lead to an increase in population for server testing. It opens up a piece of the sandbox, and means that if you do choose to participate, any progress you make isn't wasted. It's also a positive step for development, with more consistent data to mine.

Most games are spit out with a brief beta and then launch, and due to publishers demands features are cut and compromises made. The difference is, those games are said to be finished but aren't. Here we've got people trying to use the argue that the game is finished (persistence == launch == complete game) to justify their point of view, while the developers are clearly stating there's a long schedule ahead and this is just another milestone. No one is getting anything more or less than what is advertised right now. They're very transparent on what makes it and what doesn't each release.

Announcing "final wipe" isn't going to pull new players in expecting a full released product, out of the void. There's notices everywhere that the game is still in development. The core players are already members, and have backed knowing this. More people likely will participate, but they're more than likely not going to be new blood. Any that are new, should be fully aware of the state of the game.

Some players prioritize certain play styles, single player, pvp, crafting, story driven content, sandbox, social, you name it. It's all going to be there in its own time. Some of it's there now, in pieces. Other than a couple of key features, playing online single player is pretty similar to the offline with few changes. Again, if you don't want to ruin the story (single or multiplayer), then don't play the story. The story is there regardless of character and social wipes, so what is really the issue? Even single player is an open world sandbox, and there are other things to do. No one is forcing anyone to participate during the early access, in any mode.

Final wipe doesn't suddenly compress the schedule, or end development releasing the game to the masses. They will have the ability to make broad sweeping changes without resetting everything (fingers crossed). They still have the same capacity, and monthly schedules, and are moving towards a finished and more polished episode 1. They are doing what they do best, balancing the funds they have against the burn rate and putting in the best combination of features and depth they can within the constraints of budget and time.

We are still participating in "early access", and that should mean continued constructive criticism and feedback so that when we are feature complete, and when they start the marketing campaign things are as good as they can be. I still plan to provide continued feedback from now to release of episode 1 and beyond... Because I want to be a lich, and cannibalism.

​

 

There is no launch. No timetable, no estimation, no launch.

 

No timeline past launch errr wipe. I asked that in the other thread.

 

I think you know what he means.

 

You know I get why you and some others are happy with the situation, but what I don't get is why you can't see why some of us are not. Delegating us to a few complainers(sarcasm and an occasional negative response) seems to be belittling our position. You wanted the persistant world, you are getting it pretty much. It would be nice if some saw where we are coming from.

I wanted a single player game I could play online with a bunch of people if I wanted, didn't get that.

There are a lot of things not ready for prime time here. I have a thread on Towns and if people think they are good enough, have soul etc and the majority said no they are not. They feel empty and lifeless.

Some of you seem to think I am some monster that is here to ruin the game, when in reality I'm just a fan of Ultima that feels this isn't living up to or on the right path to get to what I would consider a good spiritual successor.

It's gotten I have even got messages about it.

 

What are you talking about?

 

Great, wait until launch. You'll have that.

 

I think you have made your point known what you think of us and our concerns at this point.

 

The game is in a state that is recognized by the developers as not ready to launch and that requires polish. You would agree with that, correct?

What's the problem then?

 

Problem though is that the world itself is still developing without respect to the story. Let's say the story "launches" in December. I'm going to enter a world that has evolved for nearly 6 months, without story progression, with people that exist at different contextual states within the world? It makes absolutely no sense and completely breaks the immersion.

A great example is the guard in Owl's Head who mentions the recent influx of strangers from another world. He speaks as if it's recently occurred and you're part of that influx. Then you take a look around and find groups of players that have been friends for months and towns that have apparently been established well before the context that an NPC just conveyed.

I get that wipes are annoying. And this is why I've personally not participated in the game because I'm happy to wait for the final product and then enter a new world with some friends. But this really throws a spanner in the works. Even the housing is happening unnaturally. People are selecting lots from a predisposed meta game perspective.

 

You will paint me bad here, but I'm just not as forgiving of how we got to here.

There is so much potential that you can see and you wonder what on earth happened? Why did they take this route to focusing the game on PoT's and virtual hangouts. I'm not saying I can't see some good, I just think it is so far from where we can say yeah, this looks awesome. They have sold the people who have a lot invested that this is great, to me and I assume a few others it doesn't look good.

I really agree with what @Dean478 says in his post....the story just won't feel like it is part of the world.

 

You also need to take into account the graveyard of NB. All outlanders too, from what I heard, been a few years since they died though. And you're the Avatar? Well, me too? From 3 months ago. And 3 years from now? That one, there, is also an avatar that came about recently too. Time is a funny thing in this new land we travel in.