Soft Wipe for Episode #2 ? ?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Weins201, Mar 4, 2019.

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  1. Crendel

    Crendel Avatar

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    How about this for an idea, we start over again...but all xp is transfered to our new avatar. The kicker is if your pool has xx amount of xp you attenuated on spending it soas you cant get back to uber so quickly .That way I dont fell ive lost the xp, I just have to relearn in my new avatar gow to use my skills afain
     
  2. Aurelius Silverson

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    Digging way back into how this has come about, I ran across a few things that might explain to some extent why it's being considered in this way by Portalarium,

    https://www.kickstarter.com/project...of-the-avatar-forsaken-virtues-0/posts/440821

    "Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtue is the first of a 5 game series of full-length, stand-alone games (each using the same game system), referred to as Episodes 1 thru 5. Estimated availability of Episode 1, Forsaken Virtues, is October 2014, with Episodes 2 thru 5 estimated for subsequent yearly releases."

    "Just as Richard Garriott conceived the original Ultimas as a Trilogy of Trilogies (Ultimas 1 thru 9), he has conceived Shroud of the Avatar as encompassing five, full-length games. Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues is the first of this epic story, referred to as an Episode, with an estimated release date of October 2014. Forsaken Virtues will stand on its own as a full-length game, with at least 40+ hours of content (and probably much more).

    Shroud of the Avatar: Episode 2, will be a second, full-length standalone sequel to Forsaken Virtues, released approximately one year after Forsaken Virtues. The remaining 3 episodes are planned to be released one per year, all as standalone games. They will utilize the same game engine, allowing players to migrate back and forth, traveling a continuum across all Episodes! Once released to the public, each Episode is expected to be priced as a full retail product!"

    So, in one way, the 'soft cap' or something similar could have been anticipated, I guess - but I doubt many people (and certainly not me!) understood that this would be the way it went, when you have a persistent online world and the 'new lands' are supposedly part of the same world, it's more than strange for the character you have at the beginning not to be able to travel through that world as the episodes come out without the weirdness of the 'memory loss' between each episode (or being simultaneously in all the 'episode' versions of the world) - If 'my' character in episode two has none of the skills of the original, I honestly cant see it as being the same character. It's as if each time I travel to a new part of the real Earth, I 'forget' everything I know but can relearn it all quicker because I knew it before I began the journey.... though if in the SotA case I choose to reallocate the xp, and change the template, I'd think that what I was actually doing was making a completely new character, it's certainly not the same as the old one and the 'intangible' stuff that comes with a persistent world, like the people, places and such that I had before are likely to be 'walled off' in the other episode world.

    I guess the 'soft cap/rebuild' concept works in a fashion if what you play is just the template, or the skills, which many folks do - and that's just fine, if they enjoy that then they should go ahead and do it - but if you play the character, it's a game stopper. I never expected to be playing five different games when I signed up for this one, I thought the character I made was going to be the one that lived in the world until the servers were turned off, and watched the world expand and grow as he went along. I fear I may have drastically misunderstood what I'd signed up for.
     
  3. Brass Knuckles

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    This has changed a lot since the inception of the original plan you will see lots of telethons where they now talk about a ever expanding world, can you imagine all the rage of the eps 1 pot holders if eps 2 people could not goto eps 1 lands. Pots were not a thing when that list was created.
     
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  4. Redhammer

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    I remember the original Ultima games, started on Ultima 3, then 5, the 8 or was it six, the one with the special sound disk you could pay extra for...Back in those days computers tech was changing so fast most games did a restart...The new version was bigger and better than the last...It took them a long time to put the new game on the shelves... Then came Ultima Online (as well as others) they offered a persistent experience, something that moved past the old way of making a game...Now that all being said...if they want to do a new game...well i guess that is what they do...I don't know what I would do, would depend on what they did to enhance the game... I am still building my character, want him to do everything eventually... It sounds like that will not be the case but I have a hard time with any type of character reset, soft, hard or anything like that... I started my account in 2016... nothing much to see at that time so I started playing again about 6 months before they stopped doing wipes...I played hard and then walked away again before release because I was afraid to be reset again...sucked...Been playing since the release date...What do I do now?
     
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  5. Aurelius Silverson

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    I know a lot has changed, what I was going back to seems to be at least a part of the reasons why this 'soft cap / character transfer' system is being considered. It's consistent with the 'seperate games' theory outlined in that original Kickstarter page, although I'd argue it's not what many of us thought was the future when we signed up for it.
     
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  6. Terrence Phillip

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    [QUOTE="Aurelius Silverson, post: 1217080, member: 1099"des 2 thru 5 estimated for subsequent yearly releases."
    I guess the 'soft cap/rebuild' concept works in a fashion if what you play is just the template, or the skills, which many folks do - and that's just fine, if they enjoy that then they should go ahead and do it - but if you play the character, it's a game stopper. I never expected to be playing five different games when I signed up for this one, I thought the character I made was going to be the one that lived in the world until the servers were turned off, and watched the world expand and grow as he went along. I fear I may have drastically misunderstood what I'd signed up for.[/QUOTE]


    Same here . I never imagined I would have to start over five times, once for each episode. I saw the game as having 5 chapters, that my char would be able to progress through, not start at zero every time. That would be a show stopper for me. But we'll just have to wait and see. Everything here is just speculation, since nothing is confirmed. I bet the devs are considering multiple options right now on how to proceed for future episodes.
     
  7. Sentinel2

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    I've been testing AoC since Alpha 1. It's amazing. I was under NDA until they went open beta. The first thing we spent weeks working on was combat. Hundreds of people pounding servers. I remember crashing their systems a few times on weekends :)

    It is windows only. For an amazing MMO I can live with that. I prefer Linux however.

    It's subscription based. However I have a lifetime account from their kickstarter. So I'm set. No monthly for me here. Plus I get all their kickstarter goodies. I think it was from the "Braver of Worlds" collection. I'd have to look it up again.

    Hoping for SOTA still. I've poured thousands into this game. Yes I know. That's a lot of money. If SOTA fails, I will be sad. But not financially devastated. I only put in what I was really comfortable with.

    But I do have a backup just in case :)
     
  8. FrostII

    FrostII Bug Hunter

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    Forget Ep2 for a minute and ponder this:

    If someone brand new comes into the game right now, is it "fair" that he/she can't jump right into a Tier 5+ and dominate ?

    Of course it is, he's freekin' NEW - just like we were when we came in and it didn't stop us from building a char to eventually be able to do a Tier 5.

    When a NEW player discovers SotA (after Ep2 is released) then he/she can do exactly what we did - they can go to Ep1 ( which is F2P and it will be NEW to them) and work their way up - just like we did.

    This business of "scaling things down" so the NEW aren't overwhelmed is ridiculous on the face of it.

    They have all the content and scenes available to them in Ep1 (WHICH IS NEW TO THEM) in order to work their way up, just like we have now.
     
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  9. FrostII

    FrostII Bug Hunter

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    And why wouldn't the NEW want to go see the scenes/towns/mobs/HISTORY in Ep1 ?
    After all, it would be NEW TO THEM.

    This is not to say that Port can't put some Tier1 to Tier5 scenes as well as more advance Tiers for those of us coming from Ep1, so NEW players don't HAVE to go develop themselves in Ep1 if they don't want to.
     
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  10. Brass Knuckles

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    It seams like a huge waste of development time if each episode they remake starter zones etc. and yea there are a lot of cool scenes and puzzles already in the game I’d say is a must for new players to expierence.

    Also eps 1 is where they get two free houses and a cloak.
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2019
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  11. FrostII

    FrostII Bug Hunter

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    Not sure it would be a "huge" waste of dev time to put some lower Tier scenes in Ep2, @Brass Knuckles - hell, just stick one of each Tier (1-5) and almost "re-use" scenes from Ep1.
    If the NEW want more variety than that, then they can freely go to Ep1 (since it's F2P) and find tons of lower level scenes to build chars in.
     
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  12. FrostII

    FrostII Bug Hunter

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    They need to FIX the problems with the Quest system in our current Ep1 so the NEW won't be as put-off by what we have now. I mean, if it's a "new game" but a continuous "story", then the NEW will surely want to start at the beginning of the "story", which is here in Ep1 .

    Hey Port, fix Ep1 before proceeding full-speed ahead on Ep2.

    Get some decent positive press before the big push to the new lands in Ep2.

    Oh, and forget the "wipe" you're contemplating.
    Even the NEW will be put off by that - before they even step foot into SotA.
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2019
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  13. King Robert

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    Yoda says "Trade not existing, paying customers for customers you wish, but have not, and may never have". People paid to make this game, and we pay to keep it going. Port will, I trust, reward our faith. Episode 2 will feature new and old avatar, and all will have fun. Have only new avatar, no one will play. No one. Listen to those who pay. Follow the money.
     
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  14. Mugly Wumple

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    But the topic IS Ep2. As for your comparison to a new Ep1 player unable to complete Tier 5 content and a player not being able to play Ep2 - Ep5 without playing all the previous is like comparing a drive across town to a drive across country.
    I'm not a player like you. I only play once or twice a week for a couple of hours. Your solution would leave me back in Ep1 since I can only sometimes survive Tier 5 - and I've been playing since day one.
    I'm not suggesting they make the game for me, but to point out that there are many players who do not/can not spend 10-20 hours a week on a game.
     
  15. FrostII

    FrostII Bug Hunter

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    Um, did you bother to read my suggestion:
    As for your comment:
    What exactly are you anticipating happening in Ep2 that would "preclude" you from participating there, especially if they have some Tier5 areas for you to continue building your char in ?
    There will be an overworld for you to travel in, there will be cities/towns/pots/npc's for you to enjoy.


    You say:
    But then you also say:

    So, yes it does seem that you want them to make the game for you, since you prefer a "soft reset".
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2019
  16. Weins201

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    So you can not have it both ways, if you are going to stand on what was put out in the beginning then you have to get me cuastom head fixed.

    Traveling between episodes is where you are going to catch hell. If you are going to try and convince us players who have been here for 6 years we will have to grind all over again just to complet what will be 20 hours of game play. Ep 1 was only 40 after that what is it that kept us here? If you go by this everyplayer here should have been sitting in a corner making bread or wine waiting for episode two.

    EP 1 is not complete.

    Just saying, as we have been fed changes are part of the process.

    15 pages and the players have clearly spoken a wipe is not a viable answer.
     
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  17. Brass Knuckles

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  18. Brass Knuckles

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    I have to lol at that one
     
  19. Lord Tachys al`Fahn

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  20. rebbieforever

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    Why not have a rebirth system instead of a wipe? with some incentive like for example start with rebirth stats a bit higher than normal level 1 and get some rebirth costume and keep crafts/housing etc. It could be like to start episode 2 to have to go through this rebirth as prequisite. I am not sure if its a good solution but I think its better than total wipe
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2019
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