Single Player Offline: Unique Features

You could have also gone with e.) one of the above (perhaps).

Really hoping you guys have something that blows us away... possibly literally too. Thanks for all the feedback recently.

 

For Episode 1 the content will be identical, only the spawning rules will be different. Doing more would nearly double our scope.

 

I got another question:
Will we be able to train the skills of companions and distribute their skillpoints as we see fit and manage their combat decks?

 

Companions is a great idea, Be good to see them have their own main quest in the game that you can help them achieve, And also have a personality that may be affected by actions of the player, Like if you kill a town person then your companion leaves your party in disgust and reports you to the town guard etc!, pretty much like New Vegas they got it right.

 

Make no mistake, you have single handedly defeated the mmo giants, you deserve a licking

 

Licking me is like licking one of those psychoactive toads

 

Wooo, thank you! Just what I hoped to read!

Good to know. Makes sense.

 

I have no understanding of programming, but I doubt it's that simple. If it is.... let's make that happen guys!

I truly rate time advancement in this type of gaming very highly. I might even put it above multiple save slots in the list.

 

When the NPC schedules are integrated and NPCs go to bed at night then the animation for this should in the game, too. So maybe this animation could be used for the hero, too.

 

Just a note, I passed this link onto RPGwatch.com since they are particularly interested in the single player aspect of this game.

 

Awesome! I'm hoping they'll link to this post in this week's Update too as those usually get picked up by other media outlets.

 

I don't think they realize how badly they have been lambasted by the single player community...I do a lot of sticking up for them on that site. I'm going to talk to the mod there and see about them getting an interview going.

I'm actually starting to feel very positive about things lately.

 

Cool. What about camps?

 

@Darkstarr

Will SP offline mode have a difficulty level selection? I ask because there are some that have said they are not too interested in combat. Having such a mode could help satisfy those people (easy) without adversely affecting the game for others (normal, hard). I have been known to play some games on easy myself, especially horror games.

 

RPGwatch put up a news release on this:

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27759

 

(in direct reply to the OP / update email)

Thankyou, thankyou so much for not forgetting and proactively planning for Single Player Offline

 

YAY. Excellent news. Thank you!

 

Whoa that's great news at last ! Some of us were getting desperate here.

It's especially great to hear about the game having proper Companions in Offline mode, this is really THE sort of things we fans want that will make it feel like a proper Ultima experience. This is also good to hear about scènes not respawning because really: that would feel awul in term of immersiveness to have plotlines just reapper again. Not that it brings a question too about SP Offline : will the game "saves" the state of every location we'll visit when we exit like a proper single player game ?

I've said it before, but the fact that the Offline Single Player is separate from the rest is the perfect opportunity to allow stuff and enhanced the experience beyond what is permited offline - and while I understand this can take ressources, I hope this something the team will keep in mind and that they will continue to improve the single player experience post-release and for future chapters.

That being said, I have suggested it before and I feel it would be the good time to mention it again. You know would be awesome for Single Player Offline ?

Enhanced Freeform Interactivity

What has made Ultima's interactivity unique even to this day, was its ability to move anything around : that was important in Ultima VII, Ultima VIII, Ultima IX, and even Ultima Online. And this is something that barely exists at all in other games (On the top of my head, I can only thing of Bethesda's latest RPGs). Now it's pretty clear that the SotA engine is conceived to allow this, based on how much is allowed into personnal home. And my understanding is that plan is to further this a bit in some public places, notably taverns.

But I think what would be awesome for single player offline is to offer freeform interactivity EVERYWHERE. Homes, towns, scenes, wilderness, dungeons. If that's something that wouldn't be too hard to implement : please do it. I understand there are legitimate concerns about this online, how it could create issue with other players, break the game and all that.

But I will say this : let us break the game in single player offline. If anything this would just be part of the grand Ultima tradition (remember the bread bridges of Ultima IX ?) - it's okay if more interacvitiy allows us to do more crazy stuff, and break the game, and make it unwinnable (Note: please let us kill anyone too), that's where the fun it. Don't we want a Doug the Eagle SotA walkthrough ?

This would really be what would sell the deal for good to me.

-Sergorn

 

I think there's a number of people who, while anticipating Single Player mode, are worried the game will feel like one person logged in to a map that was designed with a player population/housing in mind. Particularly since the Single Player aspect is being built on top of a Multiplayer frame.

In some ways this fear hasn't gone away. It sounds like map space intended for player houses will still be there, and we don't yet know how Shroud will fill that space to make it look like a natural part of the game instead of a swath of abandoned/pointless tenements.

It's great that party members have been announced as travelling companions, though much of what they'll be able to do, such as piping up in conversations and ambient barks on the weather etc, seems to be on unknown or wishlist material at the moment.

I suppose if I had a question it'd be: "Will Single Player mode feel like it was designed for those who wanted a Single Player game (not to be confused with a Multiplayer game tweaked so it can be played solo)?", but at this point I have to admit I won't believe anyone who says "Yes," "No," will be depressing, and I won't respect, "We hope so!" even though I, too, hope so. So, I will genuinely understand if that question goes unanswered.

Actually, I do have a design question, if I may:

1. Building a Single Player experience on top of a Multiplayer frame seems that it would place several restrictions on what is possible for the game that wouldn't otherwise be present, as the story arc making significant changes to the lay of the land and how NPCs live, die or otherwise function*. Can the team comment on things we should not expect from Shroud due to its MP foundation?

*Example: Ultima VII (Part II): Serpent Isle, where the story arc practically trashed every city on the map and wiped out almost all of the NPCs.

 

To be fair changing the lay of the land has been done in MMOs already and rather effectively through phasing, so it should technically be possible. (I'm currently playing The Elder Scrolls Onlines - which is a bona fide MMO - and there are changes of this sort, like cities overrun with monsters, that appears afterward freed and monsterless to you after completing quests).

Whether they intend to do this in SotA's story is another matter (and I mean that in term of story, not in term of randomly having cities Under siege and the like; so yeah SoL's exemple of Serpent Isle is fitting).

-Sergorn