What makes Shroud of the Avatar seem so different than any other MMO

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by City Slicker, Feb 14, 2018.

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  1. City Slicker

    City Slicker Avatar

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    If there is already a thread about this just let me know and ill delete this one.
    I was wanting some opinions from the community on what makes Shroud of the Avatar seem so different than any other MMO. is it the fact that I feel like I really can create my own path? Could it be The open minded community? or the game itself? or perhaps a little bit of both.

    I have never played any of the Ultima series, so could this cloud i'm feeling really be the "Spiritual Successor" of ultima online that everyone is talking about? Its very interesting to me, and I want to find out why i am so drawn to this game
     
  2. Elwyn

    Elwyn Avatar

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    Because it's not trying to be another WoW clone?
     
  3. Paladin Michael

    Paladin Michael Bug Hunter

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    At first, there are a lot of things you can try in this game to find out about and what you like or not... it's always the own spirit which decides if it compares to the spirit of things, like a game...

    The spirit of Ultima can be described from a lot of people in a different way.

    I just can tell about my feelings:
    Ultima was the first game bringing spiritual things like Virtues, Choices with consequences, the Avatar and Karma into a game. To try to be a good Person, doing well, helping others, to be courageous, searching for truth and never forget to have enough love inside your heart is the point I like very much.

    Beside the Fantasyworld in which you can dive into another Person, and live a - better or worse - life ...
    But keep always in your mind: you have to live with the consequences of your decisions...
     
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  4. Sir_Hemlock

    Sir_Hemlock Avatar

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    Shroud pulls you in real close, whispers dirty lascivious Ultima innuendos in your ear,
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2018
  5. Elnoth

    Elnoth Avatar

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    As someone who also never played any ultima games, I found the article linked in the first post of this thread to be a good insight into the many consistant characteristics that sota shares with the ultima predecessors.
     
  6. Gustach

    Gustach Avatar

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    I played Ultima Online for some years, didnt played the ultima series.

    I have known this game because of that, being called "spiritual succesor".

    That name is so abstract that depends on the person to say if its true or not, but I will tell you what I liked in UO and what I like about this one.
    1. Claseless system.
    2. Freedom.
    3. Housing.
    4. Bring a fresh perspective to mmorpg in their inception.
    I would have waited another 1 or 2 moths to launch to polish it, but its impossible to make everyone happy and if you wait for that another thing to implement, you'll wait forever.

    I have been playing for like a year right now, and have enjoyed it a lot, not very much at beggining, but the learning curve its big and back then the NUE was worse.

    Time will tell.
     
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  7. Vladamir Begemot

    Vladamir Begemot Avatar

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    I started out in the player economy, and am now being pulled in regularly into the adventuring. All along the other players were delightful.
     
  8. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

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    I like SOTA because it let’s me create my own adventures.

    One day I am going to Deep Ravenswood to kill all the undead because they threatened my sweetie (all made up).

    The next day I am seeking to find a unknown relic (even known to the SOTA universe) and travel throughout 4 other scenes I have not seen before.

    This game let’s me do just that. Create my own adventures.
     
  9. Lord_Darkmoon

    Lord_Darkmoon Avatar

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    Maybe this sentence from the Kickstarter FAQ explains what makes SotA differ from other MMOs:
    "Though Shroud of the Avatar won’t be a massively multiplayer online role playing game, it will be a multiplayer game."

    Yes, this is my favorite sentence from the whole development of the game!
     
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  10. Vallin Tregres

    Vallin Tregres Avatar

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    It’s a crowdfunded success that doesn’t feel like a test for something mainstream. SoTA was “live” before it was “released”. An example of 2 crowdfunded stories that were very similar are Subnautica and Osiris: New Dawn. Both used a similar system, both functioned similarly and had a stable, visual appeal to them. However, Subnautica went on to be released with far greater lore than originally intended and Osiris fell into obscurity.

    Osiris slowed down, patches and communication faltering where Subnautica kept adding new content and was essentially “live” before release with only the final goal being added for the release. In such ways I see SoTA being a success because it shares common ground with Subnauticas production, all be it a bit slower and with more content to work with. Does this compare to other MMO? Well, I don’t see other MMO SoTA really has to compete with. All other crowdfunded projects seem to be tied to larger production assets, so I don’t consider them to be truly crowdfunded as I do SoTA.
     
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  11. Paladin Michael

    Paladin Michael Bug Hunter

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    May be the link is broken?
     
  12. Elnoth

    Elnoth Avatar

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    Hmm, thread must have been deleted!

    I searched through my browsing history and found the article listed in the deleted thread: link
     
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  13. Timmy Vortex

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    What probably makes it different is that it isn't massively multiplayer, but selective multiplayer. I've never seen any masses yet :p
     
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  14. Paladin Michael

    Paladin Michael Bug Hunter

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    Thank you, Elnoth :)
     
  15. Katu

    Katu Avatar

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    RMT.
     
  16. Blackghost

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    Same....Same.
     
  17. Spinok

    Spinok Avatar

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    Its hardcore MMO Sandbox where IGG=$, hopefully, will be compared to EVE in fantasy in future.
     
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  18. Arkah EMPstrike

    Arkah EMPstrike Avatar

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    I like it because i can go anywhere and attempt to do anything right from the getgo. Im not barred from places because i didnt grind enough yet. Havent had this adventurous of an experience since EvE and Ultima Online.

    I like that talking to NPCs can give insight into thier lives and behaviors, and i can stumble upon quests i didnt know about as i do so. I like that the quests sometimes require me to deduce things or ask around for people, or treat NPCs like human beings.

    I like that you need to interact with people to play with them. Also havent gotten to experience this since EvE, UO, or freelancer. Never liked being awkwardly placed in a random group of silent (sometimes hateful) people i didnt know.

    I like that i can explore and find hidden areas i didnt know about or intruigingly locked behind prison bars requiring a key i havent found yet.

    I like the meteor. Its the first sign of dynamic live game-world-story events of a calibur i havent experienced since UO and makes me excited to see what happens.

    Im way into making and converting abc songs
     
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  19. Berek

    Berek Portalarian Emeritus Dev Emeritus

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    We understand if you can't find duplicate topics that may be buried somewhere else, that's perfectly reasonable. If you've taken a first look, that's all that matters.

    If any one has seen a duplicate thread come up, just report it... no need to yell at the person for not knowing :).

    Let's keep on topic please...
     
  20. Last Trinsic Defender

    Last Trinsic Defender Avatar

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    I respect your point of view and I'm happy that you enjoy the game. But ...

    - going anywhere: You need to grind to reach some points or are extinguished momentarily (e.g. etceter crag mines).
    - not since EVE or UO: Maybe you missed some (e.g. Dark Age of Camelot which offered this as well)
    - talk to NPCs: I experience much talk, then some talk and after that too much talk. I watch myself clicking the keywords and ignoring the story. Thats no fun for me. Why? Because the story often doesn't correlate with the action to be taken afterwards. Whenever I try to come up with a RPG-solution I fail - it's always a point-and-click-adventure-solution (e.g. go there, look around, take item, talk to). Thats fun for Adventure-players but not enough for me as a RPG-Player.
    - interact and not be placed into random group: I don't know a RPG where you hadn't the chance to create your very own group and bypass the automatism. Even WoW can be played with your friends and without unknown players.
    - hidden areas: Yeah - exploring, doing some archeologic surveys .. that is fun. But there isn't much of it in SOTA right now. Some hidden doorways, some levers and some riddles (e.g. Kiln) but that's not enough for a big game. It's just the start and should be improved heavily soon.

    Just a slightly different view.
     
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