MMORPG SotA Column: Concerns Worthy of Note

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_planning

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_plan

Suggests otherwise.

 

There's no real argument here and all of this lacks context.

 

Odd article. The guy had some negative stuff to say, but then again he didn't. Maybe he was just having "a bad day". I have a feeling this same guy may turn around and write a good article when it really counts.

 

He said in the article, that this was an act of him "playing devil's advocate." He's a huge fan, but feels it's important to set his feelings aside and look for flaws objectively. That explains the dual tone of the article.

 

Well as devil's advocate he manages to flex his muscles and show how important and influential he is in the gaming world as well. I don't see any other point in him playing devil's advocate if he likes the game. I know there is good journalism, but he could very well have pointed out the arguments he made, and then gave the flip side to those arguments as well.

He could play both devil and angel in the same article if he wanted. That would also be good journalism. That's why I think it was a strange article.

 

Part of me thinks that this game should not be covered by sites like MMORPG.com / I know that sound funny, but looking at the comments leads me to think that the folks discussing the game are not trully aware of whats going on here / and are quick to use trite expressions concerning "innovation and change" ... in addition to getting their jollies off by using RG's name / image as a pinata

its clear who the target audience is to me (gamewise) but I think we need folks with a fresh look at the game - and not a bunch of cynics

 

The story isn't in yet.

Very little of the world is in yet (at least in the public alpha releases).

 

I think right now they're opening up as much of the skill tree as they have relatively debugged and giving us a ton of ability points (I forget what they're called exactly) so that we can test things.

I imagine in the "final version" that these things would be introduced more slowly, to give people a chance to get up to speed.

 

Could just be competition paying writers under the table.

Although that would be a sign they know sota is going to do very well. They wouldn't waste money except for last resort.

Either way it will be fine.

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The game is not being very well hyped... and to just dismiss any negative criticism as competition paying under the table would be foolish.

Look at the PAX coverage, look at any other hands-on article written about the game. The article itself may be generally positive but the comments are usually not.

The devs, and us as a community should be concerned at how badly this game is coming off to other people on sites like this. These are the potential customers that we want to attract, that will keep this game alive past the first year.

 

It's still in pre-alpha. It has plenty of "hype" at this point. There is no point in worrying about that stuff. They just build it right. That's all that can be done now. Besides you don't know if they have any tricks up their sleeves as far as hype before it is released.

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Way too many excuses being made here on Portalarium's behalf. One day you won't be able to make these excuses anymore, and then where will you be?

 

You're missing the point. The elements that you want to show off to attract people are being overshadowed by clunky and distracting game mechanics.

 

Want to know where I will be? Really? I'll play something else. Meanwhile this game will be made and it isn't a cash grab. It will be fine. This is being scared of your own shadow stuff. Don't let one "strange" article and some comments from jaded and miserable mmo players looking for the next fix mess with your head.

It was a creepily written article and it isn't the end of the world.



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People give those miserable comments too much credit. These people likely don't even know what they like or what they are looking for.

They probably should be doing something else with their lives other than playing games because they are miserable.

If they were happy and having fun with some other game they wouldn't be griping about how bad they feel about some game mechanics of sota they only read some snippets about.

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This is right on. These cynical people need help. There needs to be an MMO hotline just like they have for gamblers who are addicted.

These games are ruining their lives right before our eyes. This game isn't even released and those guys are suffering.

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@Isaiah [MGT],

your state of denial is truly impressive.

There has not been any published article outside of this community that has had overwhelmingly positive comments.

Any coverage of this game has attracted negative comments and turned people off this game. Not just this MMORPG article but things like the PAX coverage from Massively, youtube comments, IGN, etc.

Does it not worry you at all that everyone outside of these forums is looking at this game negatively? After all, this game will not last long without attracting a new customer base once it's released.

 

I read a quote, "People are very open-minded about new things - as long as they're exactly like the old ones. - Charles Kettering" and I realized it's true. Everyone seems to be scared to accept something that's untried in case it fails and they seem like a fool for supporting it, and because of this it is easier to speak out against a new idea than to accept and support it. Will these new ideas work, I don't know only time will tell but, in the meantime, I'm willing to give them a chance. Those with a reputation to protect may be more hesitant to do so, hence the articles that AdamZax speaks of. In the meantime the developers of SotA, "will not go where the path may lead but rather will go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

I look forward to playing this game with people who are willing to look beyond the opinion of others and are brave enough to form their own. In the end if the nay-sayers leave, I will be having to much fun with those that didn't to notice.

 

The combination of crowd sourcing and semi-open pre-alpha is a recipe for early angst in the community and general public. But many of the negative comments are never going away. That's just the way this works.

What we all need to understand is that not all of the comments are fill in the blank messages from trolls though. Generally, people don't take the time to post something unless they feel it's important enough to post. If not to make a crucial point, but to simply say "I was here and I wanted to weigh in."

The consensus for pre-alpha is in. There's interest in Shroud of the Avatar, but the graphics are considered by many to be sub par, the combat system is not only new but also confusing and it can be debated if it will sustain long periods of fun. The cost of housing and add-on store "micro-transactions" are a concern, and the push away from many of the things that people have fond memories of in UO are troubling to a significant number of people.

That's not me being a cynic, that's a fact. And I put a lot of money into this game and have been here since the early days just after the Kickstarter.

Look, there are no short cuts here. Shroud of the Avatar is not going to have a million dollar marketing campaign. Nor is it going to attract players based on shiny graphics of half naked women. If it's going to be successful, it's going to happen for two reasons:

One, via word of mouth.
Two, because there's a good story to tell. If the combat system (for example) is really just a hybrid of some new ideas and some old failed ideas (as I believe) then we don't have much to show people when they try it out.

So please take off the rose colored glasses. You can go blind wearing those for too long.

 

People can complain about button mashing style user interfaces, but we've come to the point where they're unobtrusive, intuitive, and feel natural. Compared with confusing deck combat, this system is nearly (or can be) invisible to the user and doesn't distract from the elements you want to show off to players. Build compelling encounters, not distracting or confusing ones.

I still can't wait to finally play SotA in its final form, but, damn, there is some serious denial in this community.