Stretch Goals

Thank you for the clarification!

 

I'm sorry to see the $2.25M goal go, the art creation/cartography type abilities were one of the things I was looking forward to. Not worried about the $2.5M VR treatment, mostly because that can be done via modding and requires specialized equipment anyway.

 

I was looking forward to the art creation very much too. I hope it will be done eventually.

 

I'm with the very glad of this approach camp. While VR would be neat, I am far, far more interested in making sure the game itself is full and well-designed.

 

Great list of priorities. Thumbs up!

 

As far as I'm concerned only the goals met during the KS should be locked in.. and have no problem delaying 2.25 and 2.5.. The goals were designed for the KS after all.

That said however.. since this was left unaddressed and out in the open for so long I do believe these stretch goals need to be done at some ponit. Just not necessarily now. EP2 perhaps. This position should have been clarified sooner but I do believe it's the right way to go.

 

I personally am upset that this has happened.

I upped my donation when I saw the VR goal. I understand the reasoning but it still doesn't mean that its good PR. For those of us that were looking for a new fresh MMO that is trying NEW things and not just doing what everyone else is, VR was great.

All these mounts, crafting, houses.... This is nothing new and are the SAME THING as EVERY MMO out there. You guys want STUNNING graphic sandbox game with crafting, mounts, houses, go check out Arche Age, and Black Desert.

I have/had high hopes for SoTA, they need to set themselves apart from the competition not by saying they are just going to do the same thing as everyone else but better. They need to do NEW and FRESH ideas, so far the story line and Server hosting system they talked about are the ONLY thing different from every other MMO out there.

I have played SOOOOO MANY MMO/RPGs whatever you want to call them, and if you have played 1 or 2 you have played them all.

VR is such a strong selling/advertising tool, from JUST a business standpoint it is such an amazing opportunity to gain attention and get people to try.

The choice for the team to say "hey we set the goal, we even said if we reach it after the kickstarter we still plan to do it" then do "oh well we reached it, did a scope evaluation, and well we can't live up to our promise, we will try to get to it later". Very bad PR and has left me a Ultima junky, early backer, not very pleased.

Edit: When I have talked the several gaming communities I interact with about SoTA and told them about the goal to support VR, EVERYONE said they would try it simply for VR if nothing else. These aren't WoW junky kids, these are people who I have played MANY RPGs with. I know its not the perfect customer survey, but I have yet to see anyone in the gaming communities I talk to say they wouldnt be interested in VR.

 

Hold up! Don't freak out! Unity supports the Oculus VR, so it's just a matter of making an interface for SotA. It'll happen, just probably not at launch.

As Starr said, schedule has to be set. If they had reached the $2.5m level a long time ago things would be different. If everything goes well and they're ahead of schedule (I know, it never happens) then maybe they will spend a little time to get it in there sooner. It's not 'bad PR,' it's the way business works.

It's reactions like this that make companies hesitate to commit to anything. Once they say they might do something, people will hold them to it and hold it against them when they don't deliver.

 

*raises hand* I am not interested in VR. Especially not if it comes at the cost of other higher priorities. Frankly, I can't afford a VR headset; all my spare spending money for the next year is promised to SotA!

 

For what it's worth, there is poll in another thread showing 69% would prefer the "VR money" be put elsewhere.

 

*I* am not interested in VR either.. (and I won't be unless Grant and I take the top prize from the Scene Jam as I'd never afford VR gear otherwise) but it's that sort of reaction that prompted me to say it needs to get done at some point. It was put out there during the KS.. and it was left out there until now along with the 2.25 goal and nobody said anything. Out of principle if nothing else it needs to eventually go in.. I just don't think it needs to be for EP1. Those stretch goals simply were not reached soon enough to make it into the schedule.. I'm fine with that.

They're not saying they don't want to do it.. nor are they saying they won't ever do it. They're just saying now isn't a good time and squeezing them in now could hurt production. There are 5 eps to this game. I'm pretty sure we'll get our mod tools and VR eventually.

 

Richard said spacifically in a Dev chat that each goal was planned out with people and numbers behind them.

For them to now say that reaching the 2.5MIL that they can't reach those goals means they are over spending or not being as productive as they planned to be.

I will not stop saying this, the later they keep pushing back freaters that SET THEM APART from the competition the worse it will be for them. Because as it stands the only thing setting them apart is 1: Good story, 2: An untested and unProven server hosting method (which I do have hopes for, but being a network guy the implemetation and opportunity for hacking scares me, but i have hope). Niether of these features set them apart from any other game.

Honestly if you want SoTA to have anything more than an Ultima cult following they need to look at the competition and see what they can do to set themselves apart. Do some market research and look at what they are competing with, its a saturated market.

VR is ONE way to stand apart from every other RPG/MMO right now. I am sure there are other ways, possibly mobile device support, social media connections (personally dont like but would support to support SoTA expansion).

Honestly there are SOOOOOO many games out there right NOW that already have all the gameplay features we know about for SoTA right now, if they wont to step up thier game they need to step out of the box.

I had high hopes for SoTA, thats why I AM a backer. But as I see games coming out RIGHT NOW that look simply amazing, and knowing SoTA wont even start beta for a few more months? And dropping VR? I am wondering if they are going to fall to short and will not do well enough for us to see episode 2-5.

 

Honestly, I don't see VR as stepping outside the box. Leaning up against the side, maybe.

I think you're overracting, which is understandable if VR is a feature you really wanted. It might be time to just take a step back and relax, maybe come back to this later when you aren't so hot.

 

From what i've read, those testing the Developer Kits, Oculus Rift is not ready. So what's the rush? Give them a few years to perfect it, then we can have it in episode 3 or 4 of this game.

Go make of list of all the issues testers are having. Those things need to be fixed first before you start incorporating it into any game. I don't want it done half-ass.

 

This is a good call, focus on the core program and then later down the line they could release the others as expansions, although Occulus Rift isn't likely to be too much of an issue for incorporation into the game from other projects I have followed, but not worthwhile until the full commcercial version is on or close to being on the market.

 

What sets a great game apart isn't the bells and whistles.. it's gameplay. VR would not make SotA great if it wasn't going to be already. Nor would it make up for any short comings. It just doesn't work that way. Sure you can oooohh and ahhhh at a fancy feature but once the novelty wears off what do you have left? Not to mention it's a feature only very few people could make use of.

Gameplay is king. Period. Story is queen. VR? In comparison that's window dressing.

 

I don't care what's in at lauch. Just don't make a broken game. Features can be added later.

 

I'm sure this was a tough decision but one that had to be made. I think they will revist the $2.25M and $2.5M stretch goals and if they make a commitment to them, they'll announce it when they're ready. I won't expect those goals to be done anytime before Ep1 though.

But I am an Occulus Rift owner and also was looking forward to VR support with SotA. And by support, I mean not just use whatever support Unity has and design an interface and control scheme around it, but also to design levels with VR in mind. However, I'm comfortable with waiting for that support when they can not only just do it, but do it well.

There are many games planned for Occulus Rift support. Here's a page listing 120 of them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_Oculus_Rift_support

Here's another page that lists 332 of them:
http://www.riftenabled.com/admin/apps/

Aslo, there are third party drivers to play existing games with the Rift, like from vorpX or Vireio. Here's another page that shows a list of games and whether or not they have native, vorpX or Vireio support.
http://www.theriftlist.com/

The major game engines are offering native Occulus Rift support anyways, so any future game using Unity, Unreal Engine, etc., get that VR "support" as well.

My point is, having VR support is not going to set them apart simply because of a checkbox on the feature page / box. It's only a gimmick if they rush SotA out the door with "support" for VR, but don't actually do anything special to enhance the unique play experience. In that case, it will be just like any other RPGs that will "support" VR a year from now.

I'd love VR support, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice and wait for that truly unique experience, where entire levels and spaces are designed with it in mind. Until then, I'd prefer they first concentrate on the core game and make it The Best Selective Multiplayer RPG On The Planet with Episode 1.

 

Agreed and well said. Whizbang is only whizbang a little while. And when the whizbang requires a hardware purchase, it becomes much more ho-hum.

Maybe VR will be great when it eventually comes, but gameplay and story are whats going to last in the long run, not whizbang features. And what I've seen and heard so far sounds very different from the other games out there that I have seen.

 

I was really excited about VR support too, the remaining other goals I didn't care much about.