Did anyone catch this news story?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Proteus Tempest, Apr 14, 2022.

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  1. Lazlo

    Lazlo Avatar

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    I don't know anything about NFTs, but there's no chance I would pay these guys a cent up-front for any sort of game development with the history that they have. It isn't just that they have bailed on projects without following through on promises, but with SOTA, there was also a lot of pulling the rug out from under customers by changing rules further down the road. Limited items that turned out to be not so limited, an open market that turned out to be not so open, etc.

    I hope they'll go on to make great games that people enjoy, but I won't be paying for any of it ahead of time.
     
  2. FBohler

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    I think they're disappointed with SotA.
    If they hate anyone, that's LB.

    And with his new NFT driven endeavor, they'll probably keep on hating unless it's a (very unlikely) blockbuster.
     
  3. Proteus Tempest

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    Disappointed...... Yes, I agree.
    I recall in the beginning of SOTA Massively OP was excited about sota and the dev team.
    I don't recall the figure but there were over 200k registered accounts for SOTA on the website.

    I've said this years ago. Potalarium did a great great thing. They listened to the players.... All of them.

    They also did a very bad thing. They listened to the players.... All of them.

    We ate it up but it made for a patchwork assembly of game mechanics which contradicted other things and some ideas were removed to smooth things out.

    Since then the game declined and with it the hopes of the players.

    LB emerging now to do this new game reduces my hope for Shroud even further. I think this is bad timing on his part.

    When I log into Sota again I will look to the skies to see if another wave of moon debris is descending to destroy civilization. XD
     
  4. Proteus Tempest

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  5. Anpu

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    Curious what engine they will be using….
     
  6. Barugon

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    Probably Unity. [​IMG]

    The good thing about a top-down game is that, since the view is limited, you can have really nice looking graphics and get good framerates even on low-end GPUs.
     
  7. Scanphor

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    Well said - one of the BIG problems with crowdfunded games
     
  8. Proteus Tempest

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    smack, Time Lord and Anpu like this.
  9. Proteus Tempest

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  10. Proteus Tempest

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  11. Omnedon

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    Well here's my two cents... I've been doing the Ultima thing since Ultima 4. Have all the cloth maps, etc. Virtues are genius. Ultima 7 was inspired (once I upgraded computer to play it).. then Beta tester in UO, which I played faithfully until about the time Ultima 9 came out.. I'd say my meltdown over that was equal or greater to Spoon's. UO2 was canceled I started losing interest.. UO3d was another kick to the gut.. and played less and less until I moved on finally to Azeroth. Never bothered with Tabula Rasa...
    Then SOTA started to show up.. I didn't donate to the funding. I followed it's progress. When it was "released", I joined up. I certainly sank an excessive amount of money into it after that. I was distressed over promises not being kept to funders, the inability to even get games or books shipped (but could order on Amazon and get right away), etc. Then the drama over offices closed, people leaving the team (weren't there going to be 5 episodes?!?), working at home, the sec filings, then LB and Starr disappearing and it being transferred to Chris/Catnip.
    I pretty much quit shortly after that.. pretty much.. I still kept my subscription going and still do. I just haven't been playing until recently.
    So I have few take aways here.
    1) Lord British. There's a history here of never quite "finishing" projects for a long time. Ideas/projects are basically just staring something "new" by taking what came before, adding whatever recent ideas or concepts he's come up with, using up all the funding he gets for said project, putting that out (never finished), seeing how it goes, and walking away. And then the cycle begins again.. (i suspect to get money for his next real life adventure). I'll always love, cherish and play Ultimas, and SOTA, but I will NEVER play another new game from that man again.

    2) Chris - I'm disappointed that he would devote time to another project by LB, especially if that's taking away from SOTA. That being said, I can understand if he's feeling burnout, or just needing extra money (gas is expensive). Running this game and consistently making monthly releases with little to no help at times is mind bogglingly amazing. Cannot fault the man at all in his efforts here.

    3) SOTA - There's so much of it that feels like UO. I love that.. except.. being so much like it, the same problems were inherited. Four years since release, no real additions to the story line. Systems feel almost-but-not-quite-complete. I can plant seeds, harvest, cook.. but I can't craft seeds from my harvest. I can tame animals, hunt them, skin them, make trophies, but I cant put them on my land or feed them to raise them. The evil Cabalists and the rise of the Anti-Virtues.. they seige towns but you can bypass that.. there's no depth to it. Dungeon sets, no matching stairs, white ballroom-no matching halls or rooms, encounter rooms with 4 monster choices, but only a specific one per room. Next to no IN-GAME help for all things in game. A few video tutorials accessible in game or from website. The ingame economy -- vendors, it feels like mostly the same 10-20 people have vendors in every town, and the prices are mostly fixed. This is discouraging to new/casual players, and I wonder about listings going back to 2018.. And lets not forget the website. "In the News" last updated 2018. "Dev Hangout" last updated 2019. Portalarium 2022 bottom of every page. If you can find a link to support/contact, it's to support@portalarium.com.

    Sorry if that seems kinda like I'm bashing SOTA. It just doesn't seem like it's very inviting to new players, or very complete to old players. Kinda bitter is all. Mostly because of LB, I have abandonment issues where he's concerned.
    Gonna keep playing as long as it lasts.
     
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  12. Barugon

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    It's funny how all the game news articles focus on blockchain stuff and mention nothing about actual game-play.
     
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  13. Omnedon

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    Lord British is now Lord Blockchain | PC Gamer

    "Inspired" by Ultima (6) .. top down like Diablo.. etc etc
     
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  14. evillego6

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    The provided images along with these interviews are Unity store assets created by Astrofish Games, maybe a hint at what engine they're planning on using.

    Edit: Correction, Astrofish is also on the Unreal Engine storefront as well.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2022
  15. Time Lord

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    Technolians and the Hale Bopp Styled Cult Culture will sink this new venture too.

    It seems primarily a totally capitalist styled game model, and if it's game play mechanics are anything like SOTA's, then there will be a very steep learning curve along with a heavy finger demand within it's common skills.

    A player could be as dumb as a stump about technology and still play UO, but not SOTA and I suspect not this new venture's game either.

    Meanwhile... Final Fantasy 14 has much less demands on it's average of 20,000 daily players to play their game... and Farmville being even less demanding on it's 10 mil daily player base.

    Players want a place to get away from reality, seeking immersive escape, while SOTA and I suspect this new venture seek to drag their player base away from fantasy immersion while offering technical numbers, heavy finger demands and real world personal money marketing managing as a replacement.

    :rolleyes: My point in this is, that when tech people talk only to other tech people about what only tech people want in a game, then the deeper into an ever decreesing availible following fandom thier games are pushed into. Just like the Hale Bopp Tech Cult, they develop an isolated community. They may be smart, they may be extremely tech savvy, yet their ways only apeal to a tiny group and when the next better thing comes their way, they will leave, leaving whatever players that are still holding the bag behind to struggle with what's left, if anything, just as SOTA has.

    Someone as dumb as a stump can still play Final Fantasy 14, Farmville and UO, which is why they are/were so wildly successfull, because their players can hold onto the fantasy in them, without the need to be a collage graduate of the University of SOTA. They simply cannot or will not accommodate common game players. I know common family dirt farmers here in Thailand that play Final Fantasy 14, but they can't play SOTA and they certainly won't be playing this "next new thing" that's in the works... and it's not just them, there's an entire world of game players who are excluded from such tiny niche games as SOTA due to the Hale Bopp Tech Culture they are developed by & for.

    Our Tech-Hale Bopp Cult Styled players and the games that seek to please them, will never be successful for long, because there's always another comet passing by which will take them away.
    ~Time Lord~

     
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  16. Boadicea

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    i like this game, besides two things: 1. children friendly bullshit - what is children friendly is not adult friendly, everyone has to walk on eggshells cus children, ya can't even have a funny name for your pet 2. villages costing lots of IRL cash Besides that -it is pretty cool game, i like fire animations, i like it if often updated. massively op is some site about clickbait articles, sota devs want to do another game - so what? it not means they'll abandon sota. no idea what is that nft fad, but if they want to go into it - let them - they gotta pay the bills,
     
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  17. Sentinel2

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    AFAIK, it has the virtue of never been tried before. And when it started, there were a few others who thought it was a good idea. Some are around still I believe. Others.... I dunno. Don't have a lot of time to dig into it and never followed them myself ;D
     
  18. Sentinel2

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    One more note.

    I had the chance to listen to the stream as I was working. Interesting.

    It 'might' be a good thing for SOTA. We won't really know until the details unfold. The devil is in the details I always say. I'm hopeful and will be here (and in game) until they turn the lights out. Which I hope isn't for many many years from now.
     
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  19. Xee

    Xee Bug Hunter

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    This is why I stopped going to these sites. They are not Biased in reviews and the forums they allow to go wild with attacks. I think review sites should focus more on the game itself than opinions. just puts me off to see people that dont like the game constantly attack it even though they dont play it. Many big sites have failed because of bad writers who over time became toxic.
     
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  20. Dinsoo

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    Are you not going to these sites because they have difficulties of delivering on the promises or because you don't want to hear that they have difficulties delivering on the promises?
     
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