What changes would get you to play Shroud again.

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

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  1. gunnar_g

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    Well I bought in on the single player story and don't care about all the rest. So fix the story and quest system.
     
  2. Last_Crusader

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    Yep .. once the game seemed to turn into a MMO item shop and less about the rich story or world, I haven't attempted playing in the last few years.
     
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  3. Superbitsandbob

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    Stopped playing and cancelled my sub a couple of months ago.

    The direction of the game with regards to player made content and giving players GM like powers in game was the deal breaker. To be fair though the continued focus on deco's and sim life content when the game desperately needs focus on everything but those things meant it was only a matter of time anyway.

    A change of focus from deco's, sim life and crafting to richer story, lore and quest elements. A focus on the many scenes that are lifeless and devoid of any reason to visit them. A focus on the combat trees. As a big Tamer for example it just feels as though the mechanics of the systems need a revamp. A focus on rewarding those players who want to go out and play and explore the game rather than standing in front of a workbench looking at an unwieldy UI.

    I'd definitely take a look again if the focus changed but with the direction towards player made content and GM like powers it's looking unlikely.
     
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  4. Vladamir Begemot

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    Or maybe they need to do a SWOT analysis, realize that deco and player property is the main money maker and competitive advantage, and go hard on it. Spread the word to the Sims community instead of trying to hack a tiny piece out of incredibly overcrowded "Combat is life MMO" space.

    "Sim style MMO with player owned towns and property, that also happens to have combat" is a lot less crowded market than "Typical MMO (and oh by the way you can have land, but we are really focusing on our steller combat system we're sure it's genre defining)".

    And stop nerfing deco, it's like slitting the games throat.
     
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  5. Superbitsandbob

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    They have gone hard on it, very, to the detriment of everything else. And where has that gotten the game? Propped up by a handful of well off players who seem to be willing to keep spending their money on glowing decos as opposed to a thriving healthy growing player-base.

    They have been doing what you suggest for years and it isn't working. Lets be honest, the only players who seem to want to keep it this way is for an investment for them with the hope of one day checking out and making money or who just have a desperate need to have rare items that no one else has so they can sell it for in game or real profit. That is all they care about, not the health of the game. Your comment about nerfing decos pretty much sums it up.

    Also the Sims community will generally have zero interest in this as they don't want elves and goblins, nor do they want to grinds for months on end to get to that point. The mechanics and gameplay loops of the Sim's games are completely different. What this game is currently offering is niche, and whoever had any interest in a fantasy sim life has already come and gone.
     
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  6. CarlNZ

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    In not sure they're really the right target. The Sims is immeasurably more customizable with fast more deco options. It'd be a hard sell. It doesn't have the customization of second life either. They do need to have a serious think about what the target audience is outside of RG, Starr and Chris fan boys. All in on fantasy doll houses doesn't seem to be holding up.
     
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  7. Gorthyn

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    Well I haven't played for nigh on a year now. I see that Chris posted on the "less players ?" thread that he is planning to set out the long term plan soon. I would imagine what is contained within that will decide for me whether or not at some point I will give the game another go or not....
     
  8. Rowell

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    I log in almost every day to do my "dailies" (get the 15,000xp for logging in, get the 1,000xp+500gp for talking to the oracle, re-stock my shops). I don't really play too much beyond that.

    What would get me to play more? Well, a few ideas might be:

    1) Daily/Weekly Orders from NPC's for raw materials and crafted goods, that give a decent reward for the turn ins (none of this "Thank you for the 5 Carved Oak Figures Cabinets. Here is your 3 gold and an apple for a reward" stuff).
    2) Daily/Weekly Quests in at least all the major cities, again that grant ample reward.
    3) Perhaps a few PVP Battlegrounds with tangible goals, kinda like the Arathi Basin or Alterac Valley battlegrounds from World of Warcraft. I'm not much of a PVP'er in this game, but this sort of thing might interest me.
    4) Perhaps NPC factions to join, with daily/weekly quests to rise in rank/stature. Something more to work on/toward.
     
  9. Schneider DragonFang

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    <--------Dyeable crafted plate armor.
     
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  10. arihitsstuff

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    I've been playing Sims (1, 2 and 3, not so much 4) on and off since 2003. This ... will not work.

    Have you actually looked at the fandom? Because yes, some of them deco houses (with stuff that looks MUCH better than what is available in SotA, and is made by the community, very often for free), but a lot of them are all about the sim characters, with amazing amounts of custom content to make them look very pretty, with a substantial subset that goes for very realistic CC. They will take one look at the character models and laugh at you so hard. It'd take something with BDO-levels of character creation to *start* them getting interested (and BDO would fail on the basis of not enough customization).

    And for the ones that are mostly about sims gameplay - well, they're used to mods and changing how they want to have the game work. They are not going to grind combat or crafting - they would expect mods to shortcut the tedious stuff.

    All the for-pay content that EA is putting into their store for people to buy is also ... alternatively available for anyone interested in it. For free.

    The vast amount of content for the games is user-made and free. Yes, there are people who put their creations behind some kind of pay wall, and *that* is being made available for free by people who disagree with creators charging for sims CC (that's actually a huge continuing in-fight that's been going on since the first pay sites for CC in 2002 or so).

    The only thing that might happen if you dangle the game in front of them is that someone might like a few of the deco items available, and convert them *from* SotA to their sim game of choice. For free for everyone.
     
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  11. Sol Stormlin

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    -Meaningful quests and tasks.
    -Bulk Order Deeds (like in UO)
    -Faction system to give pvpers something more meaningful to fight for. In fact I also love @Rowell's idea to have an NPC faction with quests that raise your rank.
    -Dungeons with bosses that have more than ordinary loot. Stuff you can't get anywhere else in the game, and I don't mean artifacts, maybe items that enhance your skill levels. A good example of a boss that gives some different loot is the Clockwork dragon which also drops ingots.
    -Supply bundles that only drop a certain tier of loot items. Currently you have a chance to recieve exactly the same loot in a blue bundle as you would recieve in a grey bundle. Give higher non-artifact items for more rare bundles with a chance to recieve an artifact, or I guess a lot deed is a possibility too although I've never seen that happen.
    -GM powers and customizable quest npcs is brilliant! It gives players the ability to contribute by creating fun activities and events in the game. That is something that players have always worked at doing in these types of games. I think it's a wonderful idea and I'm looking forward to creating quests!
    -ability to swim underwater, maybe have dungeons that are hidden at the bottom of a lake, etc.
    -ability to sail the open seas.
    -more digging up treasure hunting!

    My philosophy for a game like this is to NOT power game if you are the type of person who will burn out on doing the same thing over and over. Having a variety of things to do, INCLUDING, creating content is a great way to approach this game.
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2019
  12. Brink1123

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    PVP
     
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  13. Xiones

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    More Content, Higher level tier mobs that don't involve undead or animals.
     
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  14. Maslax

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    Install a new server with new rules. Rules that accommodate casuals and "normal" people. For example, an effective level cup should be achieved in the foreseeable future through "normal" (not excessive) playing.

    More quests should tell more stories, the quests should also be able to be completed according to the level of the char. A full quest book with unfinished quests is no help - that's a nuisance.

    Abolish grinding. Make proper balancing. Get rid of the deck of cards - we're not here at Yu-gi-oh. Removes the bugs. Nothing in the cash shop should cost more than $ 20.

    And when all of these changes have been made, I will consider whether I want to play a game that is now 10 years out of date.
     
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  15. Guppy

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    A modern off-line Stand alone game similar to Ultima IV - VI. Which the current Novia Cities/Dungeons/etc. have been done really well.

    I want to know I will be able to continue playing the off-line game forever even if the online game is eventually retired.
    I waited patiently for the off-line story to be completed so I could get the full enjoyment out of playing it from beginning to end as a fresh/complete adventure.

    I want to be able to reset the story and play it over and over again with different types of characters: Mage, Fighter, Bard, Ranger, Druid, etc.
    I want to be able to use "Sleep" to not have to waste regular playing time in the dark, which I will not do.

    I want to be able to use my companions to assist.

    I want to spend hundreds of hours Creating my perfect PoT and Founder Houses in off-line mode that will grow everyday and be there forever.

    That is it. Anything online is just a bonus on top of the Original Kickstarter game I am looking forward to playing.
     
  16. oplek

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    I'm a little late to the game, but I picked up DOOM (2016) off Steam for $6. I'm going to babble about this a bit, but I do have a point to make.

    I've been burnt out on the FPS genera, so I wasn't really expecting much. $6 was my "sure, I'll try it" price range.

    I've been pleasantly surprised by the single campaign mode... gleeful at times, in fact, which for me is odd. There's no BS. They shove a gun into your hand, point you at some demons, and say "Have at them!" Gun reload mechanic - gone. Flashlight mechanic - gone. I never identified Doom I and II as being horror games, which is probably why Doom III was off-putting for me.

    Like a good dungeon master, the game's existence seems to be to make sure you're having a good time.

    "Hey buddy, looks like you're running out of demons to shoot in the face. Here's some more!" "Oh wait, running low on ammo and armor?" *showers you with guns, ammo and armor* "H-hey.... you wanna run around and punch demons to death for a few minutes? ... Awesome! Tear them a new one! Also here's some more ammo!"

    It's not an easy game per se, but it never feels frustrating. When I come across one of the multiple-demon-waves scenarios, I'm not groaning, I'm like "BRING IT". The game isn't there to judge how good of a gamer you are, or to make you prove your might and worth, earning a place at the table. It's there to make sure you're enjoying yourself every step of the way.

    I swear that someone over at ID software woke up in middle of the night in a cold sweat, having had an epiphany about what the "true essence of DOOM" is, and had a crystal-clear vision of what a DOOM game should be. For me playing the game, I felt like "Yeah! Now THIS is a Doom game!"

    My point is, while I didn't have the Ultima background of others, I get the impression that they were hoping for something similar. Something that just completely nails what Ultima was at its heart, and the only person that could really pull that off was Garriot. I think that's why a lot of people still hang around... maybe some semblance of that could still be achieved.
     
  17. Quindorrian

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    I quit this game years ago, and will never come back. Why? Because they haven't listened to anything. On Mac, the game was only playable for a short part of its life. So, that has been a huge deterrent for me. But, also if you compare this game to every other MMO out there, it also falls flat in most areas. This game offers nothing to anybody that a current MMO does not do better. The stuff people are requesting is stuff that's been done before. Yet, the devs can't tackle it. They should have tackled it early. Instead, Lord British is still be beaten by his old MMO, UO.
     
  18. Barugon

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    Then why bother posting here? Is it just to see how much you can stir up?
     
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  19. Katu

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    Mac is not for gaming. It lacks support, because there's so few that uses it. Also, I have seen few maccers here, who has it running with some tweaks. If you are not willing to do that kind of stuff, you should get PC for gaming.
    And maybe its time to let go? Don't force yourself to like it, move on.
     
  20. Elwyn

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    More importantly, it doesn't really have the hardware for games that need a lot of 3D GPU power, unless that hardware is glued into a box that can't be upgraded at all, or costs $5K just to start. The exception would be external GPUs, but those have their own problems like cost, can't feed back to the internal screen, and the need to have another couple of bricks lying around on the table.

    This is the direction Apple has been going in since 2013, and they seem to have no interest in changing it. As far as I'm concerned, it is as bad as the early PowerPC era twenty years earlier. They made some really bad hardware back then, especially for those who care to upgrade their stuff.
     
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