What changes would get you to play Shroud again.

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by City Slicker, Nov 4, 2019.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Barugon

    Barugon Avatar

    Messages:
    15,678
    Likes Received:
    24,293
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    There's a cave at the head of the waterfall in Upper Tears that has higher level waves of undead. It's a mindless grind but pretty much the best place to get ~2 million adventurer experience per hour.
     
  2. Elwyn

    Elwyn Avatar

    Messages:
    3,617
    Likes Received:
    4,783
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    I'm still sore about how hard (or at least annoying) ghosts suddenly became for me to kill once they turned on resistance to almost all magic. What are you supposed to kill ghosts with, swords and axes?

    I heard they just made Banish suck less, I'm going to have to try it, but Solar Flare is a complete joke, it's barely as strong as Searing Ray, only with 4x the focus and 4 reagents. And often it doesn't even hit anything. I'm also still kind of sore about the Searing Ray nerf of R24 or so, it's the short range the bugs me because I can't use it to pull mobs.

    I have to make an effort to pull one of those liches away before the next one pops, they're like 10 seconds apart, but at least there is some delay now. When they were first added, all three liches popped at the same time. One of the most frustrating things to me about the game is still the difficulty of pulling away and fighting just one guy. First-sight aggro is so strong that I can't even sic my elemental on one to tank it for a moment while I fight another one-on-one. The FFXI aggro system was so amazing, especially with a pet, and I'm sad it isn't more well known.
     
    Olthadir, Astirian and Mishikal like this.
  3. Womby

    Womby Avatar

    Messages:
    3,299
    Likes Received:
    12,165
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Location:
    South Australia
    If I can program an NPC so that it asks whether or not you are an Outlander, and then lies to you if you say you are, and tells the truth if you say you are not, then I'll come back and make some quests.
     
  4. Sophi

    Sophi Avatar

    Messages:
    918
    Likes Received:
    2,736
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Sol III
    Once upon a time Shroud of the Avatar had an abnormally large and talented group of writers, artists, musicians and a variety of others who were excited about the idea of incorporating their creative visions within the framework of the game, work that would be part of the game forever, a legacy of their own in a game folks loved to play - that was the dream of so many of the early backers of SoTA. Over time their dreams were delayed and delayed until they finally understood the dreams would never be realized. Is that changing now? I don't know, based on past performance I hold very little hope... but recent changes have piqued my interest again... so I'll be paying attention to what unfolds.
     
    Numa, Olthadir, Anpu and 6 others like this.
  5. Proteus Tempest

    Proteus Tempest Avatar

    Messages:
    1,820
    Likes Received:
    2,538
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Location:
    Tempest Reef

    A new round of fundraising is in order I think.

    I'm not sure exactly where the crowd is on this but we need more funds to move forward faster.

    An earlier statement of mine talked about elitism that happened at the start of the original fundraising and in a second or third round of it I think the focus should be a bit different but....... getting things that are rare or have the chance of being rare is exciting.

    If there is a next time more care needs to be taken not to alienate new players.
     
  6. Sulaene Moon

    Sulaene Moon Avatar

    Messages:
    508
    Likes Received:
    903
    Trophy Points:
    63
    You’re kidding, right? Sarcastic or troll post?
     
  7. Sophi

    Sophi Avatar

    Messages:
    918
    Likes Received:
    2,736
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Sol III
    I think I can state with some assurance (based on years of observation) that fund raising has always been a priority.
    I'm afraid without substantial changes in the game I am unlikely to ever again be a source of such funds.
    While I am willing to be open minded about it and keep an ear to the ground for positive changes, this quote from Chris (earlier in this thread) is concerning to me, "Many of the problems described will be fixed with more players."

    How can more players be achieved? Well, I have other FUN games to spend my time on, games which I have spent much, much less money on than I did Shroud.

    From the first Shroud was speculative, it was an experiment, and for me it failed. The game that remains is not one I wish to spend time in, and I am not alone in that sentiment. I really don't think anyone on the dev team cares to hear from folks like me, or that they will be able to turn the game around. But like I said, I'm just waiting to see what happens now.
     
  8. Sketch_

    Sketch_ Avatar

    Messages:
    345
    Likes Received:
    618
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Gender:
    Male
    I play SOTA off and on, sort of in phases. I stop playing from time to time because there are many games that I play, and SOTA is only one of them - and is a very specific thing. Sometimes the combat becomes boring and so I'll playing something more vivacious responsive action - and then maybe that gets boring so I'll do something more "intellectual" like pretend I know how to play a digital card game.. What /draws/ me to SOTA? Why, when I get bored of other games, which might arguably be superior in certain ways, do I return to this wretched grind of a watered down MMO?

    Emerald Ash Borers
     
  9. Olthadir

    Olthadir Avatar

    Messages:
    189
    Likes Received:
    553
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Canada
    I agree with you about the dance parties. They do reflect a certain playerbase. It is a way to celebrate a very important part of the game, like you mention.
    My original post is upset because that is all that seems to happen. And I know that is because of the lack of devs and money and therefore players. But if there is only one event that happens, it will draw only one type of players, much like you said. I personally hate them. That doesn't mean that I think they should go. Yes, I said I wanted them to end, and I do, because for me personally, I think it debases the game. But if people like them, go for it. Again, I despise them because it is the only event that seems to go on. All this work on dance parties and no work on actual world building.

    I love playing dress up with my characters, and show off my house. I am much, much, more humble than many of the other house designers. My house is the house of a scholar, so the most impressive thing I have is a printing press and my collection of books (which is very small) and the books I published, and a small shrine to the Virtues.

    To me, this game is a RPG, which means I want to play a role. And yes, I get into character when I play. I also know that is not fun for a lot of people and they prefer to discuss stats and min/maxing and raids and the other stuff, and fair enough. Like the dance parties, that is a thing and I don't want to take away from that. I do think a lot of people came to this game because it was advertised as a spiritual successor to the Ultima games so we all have various ideas on what that would be like. A lot of us, like myself, are left feeling like this isn't that game not because of the balance/unbalance issues, the PVP/PVE. or even the dance parties, but because the world is so shallow.

    And when I read the updates and the release notes I get frustrated because all they say is this 'balance' and that 'balance' and this new decoration and that new decoration and DANCE PARTY, and I feel like why would I want to play this game when all it is decoration and balancing. Yes they are important, I'm not denying that, but I will gladly wait for new deco and balancing when the world is being built.
     
  10. Proteus Tempest

    Proteus Tempest Avatar

    Messages:
    1,820
    Likes Received:
    2,538
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Location:
    Tempest Reef
    Not kidding. Not Trolling. No Sarcasm.

    I know many at this time are adamant against spending more cash but this is precisely what we need.

    Regardless whether the game gets a rework (which I'm for) we need to move the game that we funded forward which requires cash.

    The 9 dollar a month thing is just ok. I'm not sure if that is the thing which will keep the game alive to episode 5 or not. It might not work at 9 bucks a month.

    We need to move the development forward faster. It's just moving too slow imho.

    I am just a player but I also feel I am a investor at the level I could afford. 3k + right now so I feel like I am a part of the business itself. I may be too far outside my boundaries but.... I wanna see this bird fly. Gracefully even.

    To do this we will always need more cash to move. Chris has already said we just need more players and to do this we need to move forward and cash will do this.

    I do understand that many have given far more than I but I do suggest something different to bring cash flow in.
     
  11. Joe Zhudarak

    Joe Zhudarak Avatar

    Messages:
    366
    Likes Received:
    666
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Gender:
    Male
    The wyvern food this release was so dissapointing, bad design a rare food should never give less power common ones. This is just an example, player dungeons are in the same situation, totally half baked. You guys from dev team need to give us completed and tested content.

    Examples of incomplete content:

    - Lack of information about offensive and defensive atributes on character sheet.
    - Wands artifacts are sockeable and enchantable, but not the hearts and ankhs creating more and more balance problems among magic schools.
    - Player dungeons don´t give good loot nor good XP so almost nobody are hunting there.
    - A lot of development time and effort were spent in tier 1/2/3/4 zones that barely are visited, difficult should scale according to the player advl level.
    - Useless and underpowered tier 2 componentes for weapons like white iron, constant. Supple leather, fusian for armor.
    - Tons of useless food and drinks that last for 3/10 minutes. Or high end food like wyvern giving the same buff of the common wolf.
    - Potions and scrolls from loot, the crafted version can´t compete because use rare components. Consumables need a complete revamp.
    - Crappy loot from high end creatures;
    - lack of good food recipes for uncommon fish.


    EP2 will give another chance to fix the core problems.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2019
  12. Bankchick

    Bankchick Avatar

    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    93
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    USA
    I again am not trying to throw shade on anyone who is playing the game for whatever reason, everyone is totally free to play their way. That said, when I did play, my friends and I used to laugh and make fun of dance parties. It was the running "Butt" of a lot of our jokes. We the big manly adventurers heading out to get blisters on our mouse fingers and coffee stains on our Yoda T-shirts... lol. I think I feel the same way you do. That this game just didn't turn into what I expected it to. I will take some of the blame. When someone says that something "is the spiritual successor " to anything and not much else, you have the possibility to put your own hopes and dreams into the void and develop an idea of a finished product that was not really ever defined. It was a genius marketing move and I don't think of my self as an easily manipulate rube freshly rolled off of the turnip wagon. I am a pretty savvy consumer, but they got me on this one. The crashing reality of this and the slow drain of a floundering, nit picking and fiscally naïve, some might say irresponsible development team ( @Chris , Lets call a spade a spade here), made me decide to pack it in for good. This game never really promised to be what I want and guess what, its not and never will be. It came close to being good in my eyes, but the powers that be seemed to do everything in their power to nip that in the bud . What we are left with is a mediocre game , a robust cash store and dance parties.
    The hardcore fans will tell you its all coming back, great things just around the corner! Catnip games is the answer we all were waiting for, etc, etc. In my humble opinion, its just another smokescreen to keep your wallets open and your eyes closed.
     
  13. Bankchick

    Bankchick Avatar

    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    93
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    USA
    I don't think he was joking. The statement full of belief. That makes it way better.
     
    Dantuin and Sophi like this.
  14. HoustonDragon

    HoustonDragon Avatar

    Messages:
    1,526
    Likes Received:
    4,399
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    To be blunt, they have had monies. A considerable lot of them, in fact, and now they don't. Monies that were to be used for backer rewards (ie: printed novel, art assets, Duke heads, etc) that ended up falling by the wayside, and monies that were to have been used towards marketing the game as a whole.

    I'll agree, the game needs better funding. The best way to get that, imo, is by directly appealing and getting new players, not trying to continually squeeze the everlasting drops out of an already well wrung set of stones. In order to do that, they need to have something that sets them apart from other MMOs in the market, and NOT be derogatory or rude to new folks coming in.

    Also, a lot of folks already PAID for Episode 2+ through the original Kickstarter and founder packages. Now you're expecting more monies to be poured in as a potential promise? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... it's gonna take a lot more to rebuild the trust than that.
     
    Dantuin, Anpu, Xandra7 and 3 others like this.
  15. Sulaene Moon

    Sulaene Moon Avatar

    Messages:
    508
    Likes Received:
    903
    Trophy Points:
    63
    This game has been playable for over 6+ years and had tons of money from all types of investment avenues. More than most games on the market. They have constantly been putting out stuff to purchase in game month after month. Over those years and all that money the game and team has stayed the same. Other then lay offs pretty much everyone is the same crew. With all of the money they had over the years they still had not captured a wide audience or even seen a substantial player increase. I for one don't think more money will do anything in the long run, it will most likely take a business & staff overhaul to make this game move in a better direction. Definitely not more money.
     
    Dantuin, Cordelayne, Mishikal and 4 others like this.
  16. Bankchick

    Bankchick Avatar

    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    93
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    USA
    I would be willing to put more money up if EVERYONE who was considered leadership from the initial project were to divest themselves from the game and sell to a completely different group of developers. Otherwise , its just like giving my cousin Todd $50 up front to cut my grass, he is going to smoke pot and watch cartoons while I have to send out a search party for my dog.
     
  17. Rhiannon

    Rhiannon Avatar

    Messages:
    810
    Likes Received:
    1,808
    Trophy Points:
    105
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Bloomington, IN
    I saw that @Chris was watching this thread and because it seems like a laundry list of things that the game needs, I would like to add to that list: recipe book overhaul (didn't see anyone mention it). Oh how I hate it when I have to go to that book and try to find out if I have a recipe someone mentioned. It needs a sort or search feature.

    Other than that, I think my concerns have pretty much been addressed here. Not that I agree with everyone as obviously there are differing opinions in this thread. But anything else I would mention would be a rehash of has already been said. I agree with Chris that SOTA is fixable. I also agree that some clear direction is needed so that we are not getting bandaids on gaping wounds.
     
  18. Shadoweaver

    Shadoweaver Avatar

    Messages:
    111
    Likes Received:
    119
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Osaka Japan
    I haven't played for over a year. I doubt I am missing much. During kickstarter I was shown a game/story that pulled me back to U7. I wasn't hoping for a HD remake or anything. But something as compelling and at the very least like what was shown during those initial live streams. I want the game that was sold to me. Not whatever it turned out to be.
     
  19. Sentinel2

    Sentinel2 Avatar

    Messages:
    1,109
    Likes Received:
    1,811
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I'd love to see that. A search feature to the recipe book. Something maybe like what the tables currently offer.

    Sometimes it's not obvious what table and what group a recipe may fall under. I'm in the habit of going to a table and searching or using sotawiki :D

    It would be nice if the recipe book was also searchable.

    And yes, I have nearly every recipe out there you can purchase plus many drops already in my book. It's become difficult at best to find anything :D
     
    Mishikal and Olthadir like this.
  20. Jimmy Cliff

    Jimmy Cliff Avatar

    Messages:
    151
    Likes Received:
    240
    Trophy Points:
    18
    A live stream of the devs repeating "you told us so"
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.