Why we're here

So it hit me this morning reading through some of the forums.. anticipating the next release..

In the past few days since R8 closed I've been scouring the forums and online reviews of SotA. I've seen requests for ?'s over questgiver heads, quest trackers, looking for group tools, talent points, capture the flag, honor points and a slew of modern MMO enhancements. Likewise, the introduction of genre re-inventing systems such as Deck Combat and Hex Instancing are taking somewhat of a beating in the forums and some online reviews. I myself even made mention of how it would be nice to see "miss" or "blocked" when an attack is countered.

To my point..

We are interested in this game knowing that Richard Garriott is leading it. We know that he doesn't make games that use traditional elements and has no desire to simply reinvent the wheel and ride it to the bank. He is THE innovator in the RPG genre. When we are treated with something so completely new like the DCS (Deck Combat System), our natural reaction may be to knee jerk at it for being foreign. Something like the DCS is exactly what makes games by RG special and the fact that we can even lock the skills into a hotbar is probably a bit of a compromise on Lord British's part.

We love his games because he doesn't do what others are doing. We can't find any other UO type games because they do not exist and no developer will tread into unmarked territory. In the end, we (myself included) have to trust Richard Garriott and stand on the innovations and inventions of his past as faith that what Shroud of the Avatar will end up as something we didn't know was exactly what we wanted.

 

RG was/is at his best with single player RPG's.
MMO's have no real comparison to them, you are playing your character in a world (could be any online world) the way you want to.
In Ultima games you played RG's game that he put all the work into, you could explore do you own thing but the completion of the story was the achievement.
SotA is hard to define it will have the Ultima RPG quality of the story to complete but the world doesn't work, and the MMO will have UO type housing/crafting but again the world doesn't work.

It should have been 2 completely different games the SP RPG with the full Ultima type feeling, and an MMO (released at least 2 episodes later) with a full open world to explore.
An instance fest will be the demise of SotA it will not take long for the constant scene loading to become a grind.
Some WOW/LOTRO etc players may love it they do the same mind numbing instance's over & over again for some pixilated rare rewards.

 

I think things will even out, remember those that complain are always louder then those that do not.

I still have faith we will see a game that has a lot of the Ultima feel(even though all it does so far is UO like) There is apparently a deep storyline that players will take part in. I really don't want to see mini games like capture the flag...at least not like that...if there was s omething akin to finding something in a zone and returning it for a reward(sort of capture the flag...) that might work...

Question marks above the head and stuff like that is further from what i want to see...I also don't want npc's that are basically vending machine.

We will just have to have faith that the team doesn't bend to every whim.

 

That is why I backed this game. I remember the days of the Atari when there were many different types of games, because they were all new. Now it seems like all the big gaming companies either go for sports games or "Slash and Bash". because that is where the money is. I hope this project succeeds and encourages other to make a variety of games again.

 

It's true that there are a LOT of gamers who enjoy the current norm of MMOs, that's why they are so successful. It's a very interesting phenomenon to witness when a proven innovator comes into the space and there is all this feedback trying to shoe-horn the game into what is already a proven model. LB is the master of the unproven model.

 

I think the current norm of MMO's ist about making much of money in a short time because of "game-hopping" players.They rise and sink in a short periode of time.
These Game-hoppers like ..." over questgiver heads, quest trackers, looking for group tools, talent points, capture the flag, honor points and a slew of modern MMO enhancemen" ....and these players need not more time than maybe half a year until they get bored about all and rush, searching for a "new" game.

I hope RG is going his way with SotA without common thinking, in my opinion there are many players waiting for that and will stay a long time in this game.

 

You are only partially right on that one, I mean just look at it how many start out as p2p but and up as f2p game roughly a year later? They are not as successful as they hoped for.

Well in part that's the fault of the people that don't complain, why fairly easy. Let's say I don't like somethin, so I've got the choice, do I keep quiet or do I complain, hoping to stirr the game into the direction I want. Now if I'm really compassionate about the game I have to complain.
On the other hand there are the people who feel the development is going into the right direction, so they keep quiet, or someone else already said what they wanted to say. So it not the fault of the complaining people if those who keep quiet aren't heard. So just stating that you like something brings you a long way if enough ppl do it.

As for question marks and other stuff, sure put it in, make it optional, let every1 play the way he likes. I mean, who am I to tell other people hwo they have to play?

 

You know.... Aside from the few big players I can't think of a blockbuster MMORPG in a long time. They hype, they blow up at launch, they fizzle shortly after, go F2P and retain the small dedicated fanbase that keeps them going. Elder Scrolls Online and Wildstar are two current games from a cookie cutter mold that people could care less about within a few months of launch. Though maybe not terrible games in themselves, nothing new to keep it lively

 

I suspect there will even be a lot of people who thought they wouldn't like a game without all those "enhancements" that will end up giving this game a try one day after it releases and find that hey a game can really be fun without all that stuff.

 

I supported the game first because of Ultima Online and the great time i had back then.

So DarkStarr plays a very big role for me. And i always feel like the complete mix of the Team Richard has formed will be at the end the delivery of something awesome.
And that is also the Talent - to get the right mix into your Team.
I feel like they have it.
And i hope they stick to trying to keep the Team small.
I better wait longer and support a team with a awesome spirit, then shorter with a to big team loosing its personality.


I always feel sorry for Dallas. I think alot underestimate the influence and important role he has. Feel like he has to do the tough money decisions and gets the spanking for it from us .


And why we are here.

I think we all have a big influence in regard to preventing going the wrong way to long.
They do have a main direction, but we help doing the little corrections on the way.

And even if we have some outstanding Community Members with very specific great skills i think all community members should not be discouraged of it.

Everyone of us can deliver a important role of influencing the game to the better.
Just scream out what you think and your ideas. All counts. No matter who you are.

 

Just because something is new doesn't mean its good, do I need to get out my "innovation for innovation sake" video again? Instead of screwing with the combat system there are a lot of us who would rather get into the meat of the game, the STORY, the companions, etc but instead this silly card system is really screwing with our potential enjoyment. As was pointed out to me recently, my all time favorite game had one of the worst combat systems of all time so why do I love U7 so much? because it was a great game, so great its poor combat system couldn't destroy the rest of the game. Remember U8 was innovative, was it good?

 

Delivering the PvP earlier was one of the best moves they could do. It was by far the subject in the forum that did have the most interest and tensions about.
Hiring a person like Tracy Hickman should be a huge sign for everyone that they will take the STORY serious.
And i want both: A Game with good combat system and good story.

And your statement : Just because something is new, does not mean it is good. I think: Making something old again and again does not mean its good either.

 

I 100% agree that SP and Multiplayer should have been separate games. You can't integrate one without sacrificing the other.

The worst mistake I believe the dev's are making, is disregarding negative feedback, and choosing to simply ignore it (especially in dismissing discussion of alternatives to random deck combat).

I also think the timing regarding the posting of the clip "Never Read The Comments" was a little crass.

 

There is more to a cohesive single player experience then just story...hell WoW had a story but playing that single player would be boring as hell. I'm not always going to be playing single player online but when I do I don't want to be playing a empty mmo.

 

They didn't dismiss the alternatives to the combat, they just decided that wasn't the way they wanted it to go. A small group militarizing for "their" version of combat doesn't make it the right thing to do. I'm sorry you think it should go that way, but I would hope the devs do read comments but also keep to their vision.

 

I was also thinking the same. It's a Richard Garriott/Portalarium game. They will (and they must) take the main decisions about the game. Some people think too much about what UO was and not about who was the creator.

 

Yes I agree as well, as long as Richard Garriott is behind this I feel it's going to be something special. Another thing to point out not only him and his staff, but we are behind it

more importantly also, telling them what we want in the game so it's tailored to us as it's developed. It's probably going to be the 1st public backed MMORPG released

and im sure it's on Richard Garriott's bucket list to deliver the best MMORPG experience to everyone. In the end we all are actually creating the game in reality by our

backing and suggestions as were doing here in the forums. We are really history in the making with this game