Just curious on thoughts of longterm

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Korim Rackham, Nov 30, 2016.

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  1. Korim Rackham

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    So i was thinking about the long term viability of SOTA, specifically how small the active population is as of now and i know that the devs are happy with the smaller pop at the moment while they design, tweake , create, whatever.... one of the main parts of this game are housing, pots etc. After EP1 or around EP1, whats going to attract NEW players to SOTA?

    My thoughts are people who have been here a while are going to be like SUPER BEINGS, and in addition to that all the prime housing locations are already taken. Specifically the NPC town ones. So as a new player why would i want to play SOTA? Would it be enticing to play a game where theres a core group that not only has the knowledge of everything from DAY 1 but have already spent potentially a year or longer leveling with no wipes? There are no player caps either so there isnt really a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of after a few months ill be on equal footing atleast skill training wise.

    Regardless of if your a PvPer/PvE'r/Rper etc why would you want to start anew in SOTA? Basically play a game with a core group youll never catch(unless they quit playing) and most if not all of the land for housing taken unless you want to be in a Player owned town. Im assuming that the game becomes super fun, and has great mechanics etc. Am i missing something?

    Before everyone goes on a tangent saying thats what we earned as early backers! Please keep in mind that without ALOT more players the long time viability of SOTA is null. I mean unless Portalarium is wanting to be a company dependent on donations and store bought items they would have to shut SOTA down to try out another project. Would be very difficult to sustain with current population long term i think. Look im not saying the sky is falling but business is business and unless your just in it for the fun of it and they might be they are going to need a significant boost in active player population. I am not a game dev expert, but how long will sota be sustainable on such a small number of active backers. Unless some of them are infusing thousands and thousands of dollars into the game every month.

    Cant wait to see everyones creative ideas on attracting new players, maybe there is something simple im just missing!
     
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  2. Barugon

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    Why would you ever want to start playing any MMO unless you were in at the ground floor?
     
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  3. Korim Rackham

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    Because typically the only advantage the alpha, beta testers etc are going to have is knowledge, thats something that can be gotten quickly. Sure might take a bit longer to level, do content etc. But at the end of the day youll eventually be on PAR with everyone else. With no more wipes, backers have been given an extremely unfair advantage. I dont care how much someone paid to help develop a game, if its a game meant for the masses that should be obsolete. However, if the intent is to build a game for specifically that group of backers then no bars held. But i for one would like to see a robust active SOTA one day. Not something with so few people on, and the only time you see another person is when you are in one of two hunting areas for your level and skills. So again i ask why would a new player play sota EP1 at such a disadvantage with no way to get even keeled with those that have been here forever?
     
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  4. Barugon

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    Anyone could start playing the game at any time since the first release. There is no unfair advantage.
     
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  5. Weins201

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    Man you read my mind I have been wondering how to "sell" this game to a new player? I cant see anything viable to tell them, you have nailed it on the head.
     
  6. Korim Rackham

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    True, but many people arent going to want to play the game until an actual polished game is released. So when it comes time to grow the population whats going to entice new players? Do yo usee what im saying? Most games hit the reset button day 1 of release, this game does not. What that means is when a solid EP1 "Official Launch" is out everybodys progress regardless if its months or years wont be reset i see that turning away a lot of potential new bloods....
     
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  7. Barugon

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    Why would I want to start playing say ESO now when everyone else is so far ahead?
     
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  8. Korim Rackham

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    [​IMG]


    Well this is an apples and oranges comparison.

    ESO has been out going on 4 years,. When ESO launched it was even playing field for everyone. But one reason you may want to play it is because its an oustanding experience and there is a lack of much better out there right now so it may come down to no other choice depending on you preferences. And from a skill standpoint/ability class tree you will be on par with everyone within a few months.
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2016
  9. Bowen Bloodgood

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    It's a perfectly valid comparison. You're basically saying people who've been playing longer have an advantage? How is that any different from any other game?

    Again not seeing the difference here. We are not gaining unlimited power in SotA.. people will 'catch up' in terms of skill and ability within a reasonable amount of time.
     
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  10. Bow Vale

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    There was mention in a telethon, i think the summer one about releasing on consoles. i was surprised no one mentioned it here at the time but that's a possible big market.
     
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  11. Korim Rackham

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    Im not sure how to explain it any different, perhaps im the only one that feels this way if thats the case then great i am missing something! At the end of the day "Official Release" games has everyone ground floor when starting minus maybe some special titles and items thats cant be gotten anymore. If EP1 was official release i would agree with you but as everyone points out its still in development. So lets say EP1 released a year after final wipe. Those people have a year of leveling, making gold, picking real estate spots, gathering items, prime vendor spots etc. The reality is chances of catching them are slim even on the skill level. Atleast without skill caps but thats not the point, what im getting at is what would be enticing to a new player to want to start in a NEWLY RELEASED GAME (Official Launch) behind the curve. Money, houses, stuff like that have never mattered to me. I always look at getting the skills maxxed for my build, But for some people that might be a deal breaker.

    For fun lets include guilds in the mix, how would any newly formed guild compete with the larger guilds when they have had such an advatange from day 1 of Official Release.

    Im clearly thinking from the MMO Prospective. I understand this isnt an issue for those that enjoy single player.
     
  12. Weins201

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    Same issue - my question was rising as to how do you sell this to a new player?

    "Hey come play - but" you will never reach the skill level of most of the players already here, you will never obtain houses in the prime NPC locations as they are all taken unless you want to pay thru the nose to someone who uses the game for personal profit? They are basically, like you said, over a year behind in every aspect. And even worse some of the things that where accomplished earlier have been taken away or made insanely complicated and difficult - recipies, taming, skills, exp, gold, . . . . . housing????

    sorry but that is why I have implicated the need for some kind of wipe? eeeeeekkk oh noooooooo
     
  13. Korim Rackham

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    so im not the only one that has thought about these things!
     
  14. Satan Himself

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    First and foremost of all, thanks to the OP for calling me a SUPER BEING.

    I came to UO about a year after it launched, and was in awe of the Dread Lords etc. but what MATTERED was that the game was fun. So while I was absurdly behind in skills from day one, and was getting ganked by both reds and chickens, I always felt I had a distant but achievable goal of some modicum of power, eventually. That I could own a sweet house, eventually. What awesome motivation to continue playing. For YEARS.

    While I personally bristle at, and constantly ***** about, the various tweakings of everything between releases, this MUST BE DONE in order to produce a good game.

    This stage we're living now, this is not about fairness. It's about design. Big picture, get the design right. Otherwise, I'd have left a long time ago, if I was just concerned about fairness on a release-to-release basis.

    P.S. Decay sucks, please remove it. K thx. ;)
     
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  15. Waxillium

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    Don't allow pots to move into new e2 territory.

    Don't allow e1 housing deeds into e2 territory.
     
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  16. Bowen Bloodgood

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    This is still no different than starting any game a year after its official launch. What entices ANY player to start a new online game months or years after its release? (which happens all the time) No game should be about catching up to someone else. As soon as you start thinking that way you've missed the point and you'll never be happy with a have vs have not mentality.
     
  17. Korim Rackham

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    theres a thought! Thanks for the contribution @Kvow Triumvir that could help mitigate some of the housing con
    disagree, not every game has no skill caps where one character can be anything. To each their own. I hope that we get many hundreds of thousands active players in the future. As you may know Ive voiced my opinion on multiple things and they are just that an opinion, even though I cant stand spending much time in game in its current state I still follow the forums in hopes the game will pick up steam. So again my point of this thread is how to attract new players in the future to keep it going once its been fleshed out.

    I don't believe and again this is obviously opinion that they HEY you should have been on kickstarter if you wanted an even starting ground. Its perfectly normal to be up to 12+ months behind on leveling, house placement, and by the way weve amassed tons of fortune but hey its no different than any game, except that no "commercial success" game has done so. if you can name one please do.

    Again the clear difference here is that the game isn't launched and no player data is being wiped. Now if someone wanted to wait for official release then start playing 1 year after I would concede your point. But the game mechanics aren't even completed yet and people are easily gming things that wont be so easy in the future. Getting perm character perks off broken systems.

    its mind boggling to me that you don't see the point I'm throwing out even if you disagree, but you can chart out planetary star systems like its tic tac toe.
     
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  18. Turk Key

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    Well since speculation is called for, I speculate a second shard, identical in every way to the tester shard. After release, anyone purchasing game will start from scratch on the new shard. Testers will continue to test in Novia. New players will play in AntiNovia where the quartzians ruled at one time before the quartz shard cataclysm.
     
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  19. Bowen Bloodgood

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    You'll find few players ever master everything. People really get hung up on this thinking everyone will master everything and lose site of the fact that not everyone wants to. It's a lot of work.. and decks mean that no character can efficiently utilize every combat related skill at the same time. Then there is diminishing returns on skill. There's not a lot of power difference between 90 and say 120.. (though few would ever bother to achieve that level.. maybe for bragging rights).

    But also. does not the lack of a class system mean that every player both begins and can achieve the same potential in skill?

    Let's say there was a full reset at commercial launch.. How long do you think it would take for all the housing and 'best' spots to be taken? A week? Maybe two? Then everyone who started in those two weeks have the advantage over anyone who came in 3 months late..

    What you're talking about is a very small window of time that only occurs (most of the time) during that first month or so of a game's commercial launch. And I hate to break it to you but a lot of players so far haven't amassed a huge fortune.

    Name me one game that has limited housing at launch that's different (and how it's different) 1 year later.

    Oh I see your point.. I just don't see how it's significant to the issue you're trying to bring up. Anyone who comes into any game 'late' isn't going to have the same advantage in time that people who came in early.. but then you have the same "problem" between casual and hardcore players.. how does the person who only has 3 or 4 hours a week to play complete with someone who plays 40 hours a week? The latter has so much more opportunity to accumulate wealth.. probably got on pretty early to pick their spot for housing etc.. while the person who doesn't have as much time gets left behind.

    You could ask.. what entices any non-hardcore player to play at all then? There will always be players in different situations.. those who like to skill up everything.. those who don't.. those two play for wealth.. those who have (and are willing) to spend cash.. and those who don't. Those worried about 'unfair' advantages.. and those don't give a rip.

    To which I say.. you're totally worried about the wrong non-issues here. 3 months after commercial launch nobody is going to care. Bottom line.. You entice new players by making the game fun.. and by being able to show them that it's fun.

    You should also remember that more housing can always be opened up later.. and in fact for each EP2-EP5 the land masses are expected to be doubled.. which includes housing.. so the notion of running out of room or good spots is only true of EP1.. not for the entire game in total.
     
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  20. Bowen Bloodgood

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    That would kinda fly in the face of some pledges I think.. and the whole principle of everyone being able to play in a single shared world which was the whole point of instanced zones.
     
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