First Impression: Isle of Storms

I have two major issues right from the start.

1: Dialogue is designed exclusively for offline play. There is no way each and every player can be the Avatar from Ultima in multiplayer. Multiplayer version of the dialogue is needed.

2: I choose to fight and it's making me a mage. Why? Because I said I'd be honest about it later? Early iteration I know but it really needs to be smarter.

 

Ok now that the cat is no longer laying on me and I can type with both hands again..

The two issues already mentioned aside I have mixed feelings. The virtue test was a nice bit of nostalgia. In the questions haven't really changed at all since Ultima. However, the questions haven't changed at all since Ultima. This is a personal pet peeve and I don't expect them to change.. but more to the point how we answer those questions has changed.

So the beggar question. Truthfully deliver uncounted coins.. or lovingly give a coin to the beggar. Why must love make me a thief? I answered I deliver the coins and give the beggar one of my own. Allowing a free form answer means you can get responses like that.

To fight with your friends knowing you can lie about it later? Why must I lie about it? I answered I'll go fight and be truthful about it later. Perhaps if I did not use the word truth in my response I would not have been given gear for a mage hmm?

I've always disliked the virtue test for this reason. There's always a better answer.. Ultima just never let you give it.

 

Perhaps we need the questions to give you more of an on the spot sense of urgency that would necessitate the split second decision that these seem to be demanding? I've already suggested possibilities in this regard, where perhaps the tests are something you do along the way to the gate that cause subtle shifts in the path and Arabella commenting on your performance along the way, rather than a series of questions while talking to her just before it?

 

I fell off a small rock and died, and it took me like 5 minutes as a ghost before I could respawn :-\. Couldnt find the Ankh to rez me, so I just stood there lol.

 

So like actual quests to be played out rather than answered. I like that idea.

 

My initial thoughts just starting into it is that Arabella introduces herself the very first thing so she should probably be labelled as such right from the get go instead of "Mysterious Woman". Also, if we're going to have hint boxes for everything may as well have one right at the beginning saying that double-clicking on an NPC will initiate conversation.

 

I agree that free-form answers make this a much more difficult idea than just looking for key words in your text.
An old Ultima example: Your liege steals something and leaves you to take the blame; do you honor your oath and accept the blame, or do you truthfully speak?
Honor questions were impossible to answer correctly, because they miss an important part about oaths of fealty. I swear my fealty to my liege, and he/she swears back. That is what was missing. If your liege does something disreputable, dishonest, or whatever, then they are breaking their oath to you and therefore making the oath null and void.

But I really, really like the idea of acting out the questions in a mini-quest rather than just answering in free form which can be misconstrued.

 

Feed back for this new area as well.. After patch 23 *** Constructive feed back**
When first conversing Arabella My avatar is looking at her but my camera is locked looking over my left shoulder so as she is animating, I feel like i am really not talking to Arabella. I really feel as if i am stuck staring at my chat box instead of feeling like i am on some weird planet for the first time.

the chat line Arabella: "I am here to guide you to your destiny!"
Player: "My destiny?"
Arabella: " Your destiny will be determined by your actions in New Britannia,But the start of your path lies in the careful responses to the questions
that i have for you."
Player:" Where is this New Britannia?"
Arabella: "If you are ready please tell me that you are ready to begin,and we will choose the strands of your destiny!"
Player: " who is we? me and you?
Arabella:" Lord British, and all of us in New Britannia."
Arabella: "Yes avatar you are no longer on earth you are in New Britannia.Where your destiny awaits you!"

So I agree this is not bad,Just the feeling is not there and the first impression is not as solid as it should feel. I am not sure i am able to express my meaning i am hoping you understand..

Another small very minute detail also, To assume every one knows who Lord British is, is kind of unfair no? I mean my 15 year old son who never played any of the ultimas, altho I have tried to get him to has no idea who Richard is.. I think some more back round story or at least more of how Arabella met him and some back round story to give more of who Lord British is. Would be good for a first encounter meeting..

Other observations for Arabella, She should be able to answer quite a few questions as this is a very big step for players when first meeting her.
examples: Where the heck am i? you are on a floating island far above...
Wow you are a beautiful woman, Would you be free to travel with me? i have along journey and need some company so it seems.
well umm HEH no i need to stay and greet others who have been summoned : how ever you want to end that..

The meeting needs to have more feeling. How it is described to have feeling of being part of me being in this world it needs some more. maybe not a ton more but some.
For the record i understand its an alpha but i wanted to give my feed back

 

I agree Arabella should have at least semi-extensive dialogue and be able to answer a fair number of questions. I want to take the opportunity to stress again that the current dialogue does not work for multi-player. Multi-player in the very least should not identify every single player as the one and only in the entire universe Avatar who has done all this many times before.

Now after that she needs her own gypsy outfit. .... and a wagon.. (or tent)..

 

I agree with you Bowen. I said, since the beggar is 'starving' I lovingly give him some food from my pack, but still honestly deliver the gold.

For helping the comrades, i said: I lovingly aide my comrades in the battle, then admit to breaking mine oath, and face the consequences. Making the choice to fight is dishonest, even if you are truthful about it after the fact though, since you swore an oath that you would not abandon the post.

In the end, I got 'courage' during that test, because I courageously gave mine mortal foe his weapon back, to finish the duel to the death with honor. (I think all three of my answers contained more love than anything else though.)

So I agree that I hope these 'questions' are placeholder as a proof of concept, and that hopefully there will be actual events to test our decisions on the island as we progress toward the Moongate.. err.. lunar rift.

 

+1

 

Yeah, I noticed that too...Avatar vs. avatar. Perhaps there's some explanation or exposition prior to this meeting that would give clarity on why Arabella addresses you as The Avatar vs. an avatar. I mean, she is standing there 24x7 for eternity, waiting to talk to ten's of thousands of us

Perhaps it's just an expression of potential vs. statement of fact.

And unfortunately, Lum has stated that the NPC dialog is going to be identical between online and offline, which I also disagree with.

Consider the gypsy questions like a game of "Would you rather...". Sure, you might not like the question or even the choices given or how it's phrased, etc. Just pick one that is closest to how you would respond, even if it doesn't match exactly.

 

In calling you the Avatar she does also say you've been to the lands of Lord British many times in the past which is a pretty clear indicator to me.

 

Something to go along with the idea of "acting out" the questions: perhaps instead of you already being "human" when you go through the Isle, you travel it spirit-form, and as you segue through the various scenes, you incarnate as the various characters?

Just a thought

 

Arabella should sit at a campfire with a gypsy wagon behind her.

 

1. Truth, Love and Courage are too broad and having only three questions is too narrow.
2. This could have been implemented using the original virtues to correspond with more specific builds like Polearms, Bludgeon, Healing, etc and then when you later visit the Oracle she puts you on your main path based on the virtues that were most prominent earlier.
3. Right now Arabella just looks like a store merchant. Not very mysterious or compelling at all. I would have made a beautiful garden with some shrine ruins and a gazebo type structure in the middle with creeping ivy all over it, perhaps a stone ankh nearby. She would be seated on a bench within, waiting for you.
4. The Olde English needs work and in places things are worded strangely. Specifically the question about the duel to the death where it sort of rambles.
5. Needs more floating, glowing, other-wordly things around in the environment. Maybe some shards randomly floating about near the ground.

 

The gypsy and her questions were done really great in Ultima 9. You can see it in this video starting at around minute 0:42

 

Perhaps they could do this later? I agree it's a little too broad to try to compression the 8 virtues into the 3 principles for these questions. Especially for those of us who remember these questions from as far back as Ultima IV. We expect Honor and we get Truth for example.. just doesn't mesh well.

I overlooked this as I just assumed as the first iteration she'll be given a more unique appearance.

 

Regardless of how much I'd love that starting with a gypsy, that would be "derivative work" and EA would laugh the whole way to the bank.

 

I'm thinking there is a very specific reason why we are dealing with the principles versus the derived virtues... Which may relate directly to Spoon's post ^^^