Potential new player..need your views on sota

hi all,

i've been loitering around the forums and watching the game avidly for months now. Currently i am playing Archeage but the whole P2W aspect and the RNG is frustrating beyond belief.

i've played ultima in the past and much prefer the old school style of play and game feel. Still not sure whether to jump in and start contributing with SotA or not. Can you all convince me, whats great about it, has it got potential, has it got depth?

also any bad points you feel may go against the game would also interest me.

I'll probably decide this weekend, but its a big decision to quit AA and start something new so need as much advise as possible.

thanks all

 

A lot of people will tell you how great it is and some not so much. It's Pre-alpha. Judging much of anything right now doesn't mean a lot.

Having said that, I've been here since day 1 of the kickstarter and given what Portalarium has accomplished with a small team and a small budget it really is something else. Watching the progress once you "get it" and you understand what it means to be in pre-alpha is an experience you won't find anywhere else.

I don't always like the ideas the Devs come up with but I do have faith in their talent and professionalism. It has enormous potential. Especially when you consider there will be at least 5 episodes. Has it got depth? Well hell it's pre-alpha and last we heard only 20% of the content is actually in.. but look at all those crafting ingredients! So, not yet but it's definitely getting there. Pre-alpha and all.

 

There's still a long way to go, but the team is reliable (making a new release monthly), and the communication is good.

I backed the kickstarter but didn't really start playing until a few releases ago, and I am really pleased with the direction things are headed.

I definitely suggest getting in on this game.

 

The game is in a pre-alpha state.

If you've never been in an alpha or early beta test stage of a game before, then realize pre-alpha means that all infrastructure of the game is not installed.

If you are able to bring your imagination to the table, your testing skills and bug reporting abilities to the game, your sense of wonder to the culture of the community, then SotA will be a place for you at this present time.

This is a pragmatic appeal, as I am surrounded by optimistic community members and systems of the game that improve every new Release. I am glad to be part of this early part of the game.

Perhaps you will as well.

 

I won't try to convince you either way, but I'll tell you what to expect.
The game isn't anywhere near complete. If you're not ready for that
experience, then it's not for you at the moment. Most of the hate
you'll read on the forum is from people who can't wrap their head
around that fact.

The question right now is do you have faith in this team to pull
off what they're promising. If you do, and you like where the
game is heading, then getting in early for the "perks" and to
help the team financially is a great idea. If you don't have
the patience to deal with an obviously unfinished product
then getting in right now will only make you bitter; better to
just wait.

 

There is much wisdom in what has already been written. This game definitely has the Ultima "feel", and I can frequently see Richard Garriott written all over it. For an old-school Ultima gamer there is so much to love. And there will be much more as the game is developed and fleshed out.

Having said that, it is true that we are still in pre-alpha. If you are OK with watching something being built, having a number of systems not in place yet or not working, and content to see the awesomeness develop, then jump in - I personally think it's a stellar game and the community is beyond amazing. If however that kind of stuff is not for you, you may prefer to wait until the final coat of paint is applied.

Either way - WELCOME!!

 

Personally I think a game's forums are the worst place to get an unbiased view of a game. That goes for any game, not just SotA. A game's forums are usually rife with fanboys who will tell you, "It's the bestest game EVAR!!!" and other such tripe.

I would balance what you hear on these forums by asking on other sites like MMORPG.com (I can't believe I just recommended them! *groan*) or even Reddit.

 

If you can handle that the game is in pre-alpha and that allot of things are changing or not fully implemented, your Avatar at this point will be wiped multiple times then you may want to help in the development of the game.
I personally wanted to see the progress and have the ability to find issues see the overall improvements in the game and possible help guide the development of the game to make it great. As all above have said you will get the people that think it is the best thing since sliced bread and those that hate it. If you like the exploration and working with helping improve instead of just complaining the yes please join and welcome.

 

Too early to make such a switch if you are hesitant.
Looking at the release plan its about 3 months before you can really see the start of more complete economy (and crafting).

Also very hard to say when you didn't state what kind of playstyle you are looking for?

So my recommendation is to wait until summer, if it really feels like a big decision.
Then get a low level account to try out the features and the feel of the game.
Then, and only then, if you like it you might want to consider raising a pledge.

If you want a tour of how features look like right now then there are plenty of vids to find and/or you can ask any of the active guilds (including me) for a remote tour and other details.
My Guild also have some extra accounts from when there was a discount if the money threshold is an issue.

 

hi all and thanks for all the input.

Not only does the game look great but responses from this community also seem to be not only sensible but friendly too, which i can tell you is a huge difference to the AA forum.

I've been a part of several alphas before so i know what to expect regarding content at the moment.

i think i'm going to watch some more videos and keep reading this forum over the weekend and then decide. Thanks for the offer Spoon that is very generous, i'll certainly give you a shout if i need.

 

The game needs a lot of love, it is getting that love, but slowly. They have a very small team, and the budget of a high end B movie. Wish they were on Star Citizen level, but it is what it is. I've not been around that long, but the two patches I've been around for are adding and improving. At this point, since it is a pre-alpha state that's really all I can ask for is for them to add the features, zones, quests, the basics right now we need to play, and worry about balancing / fleshing out later.

It's pretty neat seeing the game come to life. So, that said, if you don't mind an incomplete experience and are willing to deal with the trials / tribulations of a game that is far from complete, then I would suggest a modest dive into the game. You don't have to break the bank, and if you do like it, then of course you can pledge more and upgrade. Right now, at least for me, it is the kind of thing I will maybe jump into once a week for a little bit.

This is the kind of game where you will have to ask yourself how important do you view visuals. Visuals don't make a title, and a game like this will need to priority game-play over visuals. This will be a thinking man's RPG. You will not have a marked mini-map spoon-feeding you where to go. So it can be somewhat frustrating early on and will take getting used to.

Like any title in development, there are going to be things you like, things you don't. It's impossible to please 100% of people 100% of the time.

 

Very simple question to answer. Risk versus rewards is the solution. If you value a completed and established game now is not the time to join. Wait and see if this game meets your desires after release and a few patches. If the benefits of early access, rent free property, all of the pledge rewards and items only available now then take the risk and pledge.

Don't spend more than you are willing to gamble. Don't be angry for missing the opportunity later if you wait. I would recommend at the very least spend $45 to check things out. If you can't spend $45 out of curiosity then seriously you need to quit gaming and refocus priorities.

 

If you go in expecting a game at this stage, you'll be disappointed. SOTA isn't done yet and while there is a lot of content, it's nowhere enough to sustain itself in the long term. There is no real high end content and there will be wipes in the future.

Having said that, it is playable and getting better every release.

 

This is exactly the opposite of my observation. Every game that I have played seriously has had incredibly negative forums filled with endless complaints and bickering. People are entitled to whatever opinion they hold but I have never understood the need to unload endless negativity in a video game forum. The moment my feelings veered that way I would be out the door and on to the next game.

 

at this point i wouldn't play it everyday your going to run out of content really quick maybe a months worth of content if you take your time it's also really really slow in some areas stay away from the major towns if you can but rest the areas are very playable now on with the good stuff with this new release we can finaly walk around on the main area of the game novia so we can sort get a rough idea of the game world now crafting is coming along too so it is sort of at a good point now to check the game out to see what it's going to be like when they release it

right now i'd get SOTA more for a back up game it is getting really close though to the point where you might consider it being your main game maybe in 2 to 4 months or when it's closer to release

 

This is more or less how I weighed it prior to jumping on board here.

AA Advantages:
Gliders (started game for that very reason)
Mounts
Interesting economic model
Good PvP depending on server

AA Disadvantages:
Labor points
P2W aspect
Gold farmers

SotA Advantages:
Potentially interesting economic model (assuming it goes as designed)
No need to grind for dropped gear (in the sense of named raid gear)
No Labor Points
It isn't P2W (there are advantages to the different pledges, but none that significantly break a character or play style)

SotA disadvantages:
PvP - no real community yet and no real balance to builds yet (there is a strong vocal PvP community, but until there is balance combat mechanics it isn't what I'd personally consider proper in game PvP options yet)
No mounts (or gliders...*cry*)
It is still Pre-Alpha (this means not all the basic mechanics are implemented yet, not all skills are in, lots of need for polish and bug reporting)

SotA up-in-the-airs:
Text based communication with NPCs (some people like it, some people hate it, it is still not correctly or fully implemented yet)
Small build team (takes longer to get stuff done and some things we really want as players get bumped for what the Devs need to do based on their update timeframe, but they do listen to feedback and make changes based on some of it... they also say no to ideas which isn't a bad thing regardless of what some people feel)
Monthly releases (this does occasionally cause wipes, and any release causes bugs, but some of us really enjoy being in the early development changes and being able to submit things made in unity to the design team)

 

One more thing I forgot to add:

There isn't the ease to hack this system as AA has been plagued with.

Can't comment on the RNG as such. Crafting skills JUST started to get implemented this release, and it is currently limited to gathering skills only, and everything else is 100% success.

 

I'm not sure how this is a bid decision, either you buy it or you don't.

If it is a big financial issue you may want to wait until there is more game to see.

 

buy in at the lowest pledge level I believe it is 45 dollars and see for yourself, then once you have tested it at that level you can then make an informed decision as to wether or not you want to invest more into it

 

I feel your pain. I played archeage for a couple months and couldn't stand it any longer either. 7 16x16's I just let demolish. A game where EVERYTHING comes from the cash shop is just garbage to me. Labor points are ridiculous, and you really have to pay a sub, AND get stuff from the cash shop if you want to enjoy the game.

With that said, SOTA is going to be a great game. But it is not currently. Its PRE-Alpha, so do not expect an enjoyable play experience. It is still fully in development and testing. I currently log in for a few days after updates, and check out the new things. Then I put it away until the next release. If that is something you are looking for, I would say definitely pledge to the game. If you are looking for a new game to "play"...I would look elsewhere.