1. Here you will find official announcements and updates. These announcements are also linked in the Official SotA Discord server.
    We encourage comments from the community! To keep the announcements official, we ask that comment threads be created in the General forums for player input.

                                                 Thanks!

Darkstarr's Chaotic Release 4 Impressions

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by DarkStarr, Apr 2, 2014.

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

    DarkStarr Executive Producer SOTA Developer

    Messages:
    6,692
    Likes Received:
    45,560
    Trophy Points:
    202
    Gender:
    Male
    Greetings Avatars,

    I was more nervous about Release 4 than our previous 3 releases combined. It contained the most content we had ever pushed live (ex: jumping from 3 maps to 10!) and it was the first pass at multiple major systems: combat, harvesting, scene types, parties, the overland map, swimming, etc.. All of those were still in various undone and rough shapes the Monday before going live. I did have a panic moment that Monday morning but thankfully my compatriots calmed me down and we pulled it all together for release!

    My favorite R4 moment was trying to solve the case of the Owlshead Sheep Murders! Dun dun dun!

    As we mentioned in our R3 perspectives, performance optimizations were a major focus for us in R4; and it seems to have worked. Average frames per second went up significantly but we still had some hitching which we will continue investigating. Your testing helped us isolate zoning and synch issues, some of which we patched during R4 and some of which we are working to solve in R5.

    R4 also helped us clarify some of our priorities and we are pulling some items into R5 that we think are critical sooner rather than later including a compass and player trading (and maybe something aquatic).

    Thank you again for being such an amazing community and supporting us on this journey to make the best crowd funded and crowd sourced RPG ever!

    Release 4 is dead! Long live Release 5!

    Sincerely,
    Darkstarr aka Starr Long
     
  2. Balec Fares deCani

    Balec Fares deCani Avatar

    Messages:
    1,343
    Likes Received:
    4,015
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Thanks for a chance to be part of the process!
     
    Asclepius and Jatvardur like this.
  3. Fireangel

    Fireangel Avatar

    Messages:
    1,062
    Likes Received:
    3,291
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Oklahoma (earthly realm)
    Thanks, DarkStarr, and official Team, and Richard Garriott! I had a blast, and did not want to leave. I haven't had those feelings since back 'in the day' of early UO!

    Here it is: Avatars! Remember this time as 'the time of your life' in gaming! Time of Your Life - Click Me! If you never played UO in the early days, you may not understand, but trust me!


    Lyrics of Time of Your Life – Green Day
    Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
    Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
    So make the best of this test, and don’t ask why
    It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time
    It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
    I hope you had the time of your life.
    So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
    Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
    Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
    For what it’s worth it was worth all the while
    It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
    I hope you had the time of your life.
    It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
    I hope you had the time of your life.
    It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
    I hope you had the time of your life.
     
  4. lanica

    lanica Avatar

    Messages:
    147
    Likes Received:
    84
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Aren't we going to get to play R4 again on April 7th? So maybe don't kill it yet? ;)

    Thanks for everything guys...this is really one of the most awesome things going on in the gaming industry from my perspective.
     
  5. Jatvardur

    Jatvardur Avatar

    Messages:
    2,020
    Likes Received:
    3,002
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    CH
    Good work. Keep it up! Once I got logged in I did see an improvement in performance.

    "Trade is critical update."

    Yep, some of us thought so too.
     
  6. Mercyful Fate

    Mercyful Fate Avatar

    Messages:
    392
    Likes Received:
    554
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    US East Coast
    My liege! Thank you, Darkstarr! Many of us simply cannot wait for magic to make its appearance. So looking forward to R5 and all the improvements to come!
     
    Sir Isycle and Fireangel like this.
  7. Atticus Gryphonheart

    Atticus Gryphonheart Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    285
    Likes Received:
    411
    Trophy Points:
    28
    I admit it...I killed the 1st sheep. Didn't even talk to Guard Michael. Ran past the guard and put the poor thing down with my bare hands. Probably why they didn't want to welcome me into the town. :D
     
    Mercyful Fate and Fireangel like this.
  8. By Tor

    By Tor Avatar

    Messages:
    2,362
    Likes Received:
    4,717
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    I finished off the rest. I recall Darkstarr screaming "Oh the humanity! Fluffy never harmed anyone! Why? Why?"

    Darkstarr ran off before I could explain that the sheep were actually Shadowlords in disguise. Atticus and I saved New Britannia.

    R4 was fantastic and that was my favorite moment as well. I can't wait for R5!
     
  9. Lord Stein

    Lord Stein Avatar

    Messages:
    222
    Likes Received:
    595
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Owl's Head
    DarkStarr..Lord British..and the whole team did an outstanding job on R4! I had a fantastic time..I grouped up and ran the Crypt ( at least I think that's what you call the dungeon in Owlshead..) with Lord British..Hung out in the tavern for an hour listening to him convey his ideas..Met lottsa great folks.. Loved checkin out all the basements..and looking at all the homes..and the 10 scenes were all great. I am thankful to even be able to see the game grow..and the progress.. The complainers don't know what there talking about.
    Sure there were minor login issues... what do you expect..for pre-alpha..I did notice that if I had my bags full of stuff...It made a huge difference with moving into and out of a zone or basement....i think anyone who had collected/crafted
    lotta stuff like me had more problems..with my bags almost empty I had no issues. Although I didn't get any answers right in the trivia contest..I had a great time! I can see this community is mostly like minded..and this game is gonna be fantastic..I am proud and exited beyond words to be a part of this new virtual world. I'll see ya'll on Monday!
     
    Lord Royou, Asclepius and Fireangel like this.
  10. Amber Raine

    Amber Raine Community Ambassador (FR)

    Messages:
    1,971
    Likes Received:
    9,332
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Abbotsford, BC Canada
    Thank you my Liege, Lord British, and rest of portalarium for the ability to once again spend time in the world we have all come to love. Many more memories were created in this release, and many more i know will come to pass.

    Being joined in my SPO by Violation and company was amusing. Iazon stealing my resources in single player. FINALLY meeting Daniele! - leading to the wolf companion in my story! All great memories.. Thank you all of you :)

    Please do not kill R4 until after the 7th.. Then lead us to R5

    ~the Priestess of Chaos~
    Amber Raine
     
  11. Umbrae

    Umbrae Avatar

    Messages:
    2,566
    Likes Received:
    4,252
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    Glad to know I am not the only one violated by Violation!
     
  12. High Baron O`Sullivan

    High Baron O`Sullivan Avatar

    Messages:
    3,478
    Likes Received:
    8,062
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    is everything.
    I killed the sheep. My crimes shall be forgotten to the pages of time. Dead men tell no secrets.
     
  13. TEK

    TEK Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    689
    Likes Received:
    1,428
    Trophy Points:
    93
    I think the team needs to be truly commended for how impressive the state of the game is so early in development. I know there is bumps and bruises and nothing is perfect but it truly is impresssive. Other than getting stuck early on which was then patched and fixed in short order, the towns and the scenes ran with what seemed to be little lag and good framerates. Not only that, but the basic structure of the game is sorta there already...at least I can tell. I had more fun going through all the scenes, gathering resources and hanging out in Owl's Head public crafting center figuring out recipes and giving out weapons I created than I have had in another MMO that came out recently. Bring On R5!
     
    Lord Royou, Winfield and Fireangel like this.
  14. Asclepius

    Asclepius Avatar

    Messages:
    1,650
    Likes Received:
    6,029
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Perth West Australia
    Thank you @Darkstarr and all the dev team for taking us on an absolutely amazing journey.

    I know there's a lot that is not finished yet - I appreciate and understand that. I'm just honoured and thrilled to be a tiny part of this whole process.

    The parts you have released are only whetting my appetite for more. The joy of "coming home" to New Britannia:D is only tempered by the sadness of being evicted a few days later:(.

    Roll on R5!
     
    Lord Royou and Fireangel like this.
  15. Duke Olahorand

    Duke Olahorand Localization Team

    Messages:
    1,287
    Likes Received:
    2,465
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    North Germany
    I abused a friends account to murder two sheep (as Lord you keep your hands clean, don't you?) to ensure her, that the sword she crafted is really capable of doing damage (what she doubted after a stag was on her and she seemed not to do damage).
    Somehow I missed DarkStarr in R4 at all ... our path did not cross this time.
    *Salute*
    Olahorand of House Blackthorn
     
    Lord Royou and Jatvardur like this.
  16. Winfield

    Winfield Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    1,291
    Likes Received:
    6,525
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    San Antonio, Texas
    Thanks DarkStarr and your whole Dev Team! R4 brought a lot of us together ... it was great fun!

    Many of us adventured together in the scenes, looked for hidden treasures, killed the lich, tried to release the prisoners, gathered ore while others protected, killed the elf mages, craft weapons and armour for others, hung out in the pub, decorated some houses, jumped on top of things, swam under things, had a pool party, and much more!

    And some of the best things for me were being able to move smoothly around the masses of people, seeing old friends and and making new friends, exploring, questing, mapping out the scenes by hand with pencil (yes a compass will help, but it was fun trying to get direction visual cues from the sun and clouds and places I'd been -- yet, lost in a forest without a compass can be unnerving *smiles*). Trading will be really nice in R5 where we will also hopefully have fishing. I will need to sell all the fish I catch -- and just selling to the street vendor is not as much fun as to other people -- plus I give discounts!

    See you in R5!
     
  17. DNA Cowboy

    DNA Cowboy Avatar

    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    134
    Trophy Points:
    18
    You have done a wonderful job in such a short time, and the mechanics of the game certainly are impressive so early in delevopment, the crafting is among the best I've ever seen and the music is so in keeping with the previous Ultima games. With that in mind I am looking forward to the graphic refinement, overland map and combat implementation in R5 to get some idea of where we're going with that side of things.

    Best wishes
     
    Lord Royou and Olahorand like this.
  18. Doppelganger [MGT]

    Doppelganger [MGT] Avatar

    Messages:
    495
    Likes Received:
    1,199
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Tampa Bay, FL
    Compass. YES!

    I'm not going to address other R4 issues, because I've covered all of that in other threads. Lets just say I look forward to a less buggy and more functional experience in R5 :)
     
    Time Lord likes this.
  19. Royou

    Royou Avatar

    Messages:
    354
    Likes Received:
    651
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Cwmbran South Wales UK (Home of Dragons)
    Thank you my Liege, it was an honor and privilege to travel with you on your adventure's and your quest to solve the sheep murders, was the best fun I've had yet, and I'm sure that many more fun times are to come, you have all done a fantastic job keep up the great work :)
     
    Time Lord and Fireangel like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.