Q1 2016 Schedule Update

Sorry, no interest in getting banned I have too much invested. I am quite upset though that I am one of the few seeing the writing on the wall. If more people aren't concerned this game will not make it past Alpha and we will all lose. People need to insist that that our dollars aren't all spent on Tito's and Robots or there will be no game. I have well over a grand into this thing, and I would like to play it for 5 or 10 years!

 

Ahhh thanks for the apologies. Nah I'm not saying to ever ignore your son. I'm sure you are so proud of him. I do hear what you are saying and understand why better now. I am like you in investing a large sum of cash in this game as well. I only know my experience so far coming from the very beginning of development to now has been a journey I do not regret. I made the decision early on to go forward with out attachment to the outcome. For me I choose to think of it like being attached takes me out of being present in this very moment one day at a time. I'm here with the development team and all of you facing and tackling any of the development issues and game issues/bugs as we find them one by one. I made that decision, the money is spent. I am here to take on the challenge. Also To me it is an adventure like life is a journey not a destination type of thing. Sorry wall of text . Again I'm wishing you the Very best.
Edit . Also in spite of my wall of text I do see the coolest things coming each release. I don't believe it will be everyone's choice of game but it will be mine.

 

Lower your C2H5OH level and raise your THC level should help a lot.

Its not true.
Some whales are jumping but new have come and other whales are still growing and very satisfied.

 

Maybe it's me reading this wrong...it keeps adding up to P2W to me.

I'm all for there being special places where one can be "blessed" but basing it on the size of one's Pot?

I keep thinking of what this game would feel like to me if I was logging in with a "bread and butter" $45 account; bearing in mind that I'm in the camp that says those are what's going to really make or break this game in the long haul.
In any case...I've placed my bets and at this point I'm gonna keep my horse. That said...I'm not inclined to spend more until I have something more tangible than a "trust me" or just a gut feeling.

In the meantime...I'll play as I can; offer what assistance I can to those in need and hope things go well.

 

Not based on the size. Based on the population. Means: percentage occupancy.

 

The "size" of a town in the minds of many more often refers to population as opposed to area.
personally...I'd rather see any "blessings" being unrelated to pots and in stead fond at various places throughout the world but hey..

lol opinions are like... ummm well certain body parts... everybody including me has 1

 

Oh, i forgot to explain it further.
I cant see P2W because a small Hamlet (low-priced) with high population will have higher blessings as a large Metropolis (expensive) with low population.
Thats quite the opposite of P2W.

 

aye... good point

I think it would be fair to say my feelings are colored by recent pondering as to what this game would feel like to a fresh soul who has his "entrance ticket" and wits which is what most of us begin any new game with.

If I have failed to note where it's been mentioned about blessings in the non-pot world I'd be appreciative of a pointer in that direction.

*shrug* idk....personally, I'm not too worried about my own pots population density....I bought the thing with a longer range target in mind

 

Cleaned the thread a bit. Let's keep it civil, please.

 

Correct. We are focusing on working on features that affect progression.

 

I completely understand your angst. It is taking a long time for us to complete the game and some early large backers are frustrated. Community members coming and going over time is completely natural but it can be disconcerting. As to your specific points about booze and robots I would like to respectfully correct some assumptions you made.

For the record 90% of the booze are gifts from players and the robots are Richard's personal robots paid for by him out of his personal funds. No backer dollars were spent on robots. We are incredibly proud of our frugality and our responsible use of funds and there have even been articles written about it. http://www.tentonhammer.com/feature/feel-burn-many-ways-shroud-avatar-conserves-cash

 

Instead of delving into everything that's wrong or what the devs can do, what can the backers do besides buy more useless pixels?

 

I don't personally have a PoT because I feel they aren't worth the money, but I also felt that way when it looked like they were going to be capped when land access ran out and be more exclusive. I've got close to 3K tied up in the game so far, and personally feel that the money is better spent on pledges than PoTs (my personal opinion, obviously we've sold enough PoTs that others feel different).

Although we have had a few large investors decide the game isn't for them, that doesn't mean anything. People tend to jump ship in projects all the time. Of those who have recently left, that probably accounted for around 150-200K of the nearly 8 million (not counting Steam pledges because they can't report those). It is a shame to lose out on them as they are pillars of the community and their voices will be missed. That doesn't mean that the game is going to tank nor does it mean that there isn't a chance for success or anything like that. All projects have people rotate in and out over their life cycle. The issue more often than not stems from people wanting/expecting one thing and not seeing it develop, not that they think the game isn't going to be successful. And as for them being "whales" it really doesn't make much difference when you view the overall pledge amounts. If everyone from knight level and above decided to bail, then I would be concerned, but a few big pocket investors doesn't worry me much.

As for being successful down the road? I honestly can't speak to that. There are concerns I have with the current design choices the developers are making. However, we have a strong community even if some people have decided to leave off for now. That community tends to make me believe there is longevity in the game. After all, you can have the greatest game in the world but if there isn't a strong community backing it, the game won't last. Being that we have so few people active on the forums and in the game testing, it is a hard call to say much about the long term community, but I honestly believe it is something that will last for quite some time.

If you truly feel the game won't be successful, then sell your pledge and recoup your money. Personally, I think it is silly to jump ship prior to seeing all game mechanics in place as that is one of the determining factors to if the game will be enjoyable or not. But I wouldn't ever encourage someone who felt their money was wasted in a project they no longer believe in to stay. If you want the game to succeed, there are better ways of going about it than being a toxic and insulting person on the forums. People reading posts like that are likely to be turned off.

I already hear lots of talk about how our community is toxic, so when people do things that make it look/sound even more toxic I have little sympathy for that. It's the community that will create longevity so try pushing towards being a constructive force in the community and it is much more likely that the game will succeed for years to come. This does not mean be a yes man, but it very much means present your concerns in a way that isn't just vulgar trolling.

 

I see lots of comments about how the community is toxic, but I don't see a lot of actual evidence for it. Almost all of the community members I've met are helpful, constructive, and passionate. A few bad apples doesn't spoil the entire tree, so perhaps I'm just able to look past a bit of trolling here and there.

Like others, I want this game to succeed. I don't have the funds to spend thousands on this game, but I've spent more here than on any other game I've ever played (just recently surpassing my years of monthly payments for EverQuest). If there is anything the community can do, I'm all for it and will do what I can to help.

 

It's because we have a mature audience that likes to engage in thoughtful discussions, maybe?

And also because we have the forum rules we have and mods that actually mod accordingly, possibly.

And +1 to all the parts about the community we have here and what we can do to help.

 

I will definitely take this under immediate advisement. Thanks for suggesting good solutions, Lol.

 

Gruenok if it helps I watched people state every single day how Elite Dangerous was going to be a complete disaster and flop, needless to say the game has now made millions and just released there first major expansion pack. One thing to keep in mind is the amount of backers pre launch is not a reflection of the player base as most people would rather wait for the game to launch before making up their mind. While the future of SOTA is uncertain, I've chosen to simply look upon this as a hobby and ride the storm out to see where it takes us. With any luck I'll be sitting pretty on an island in my Duke Castle, but if things do end up going south I'll likely just look upon this as a valuable life lesson and a reminder to back with my brain and not my heart. At any case it's a risk I'm willing to take as I know the developers have put a lot on the line to make this game happen and it's important to me to see this through to the end.

I hope you stick with the game and should you take that option I'd recommend you follow your sons advice and not spend anything further if you're having doubts.

 

Never had the feeling that you guys would miss managed or miss used the money you got from the bakers.
I think its great way to show you guys how much we like you and the project by supporting you not only by providing feedback and investing money by pledging, but allsow take care that you guys not miss out on your constant flow on booze and beer. # Austrian Support drop income next month

We all ways want so much from you guys and we so often complain.
But in the end its a way to show how much we care for the game and for the people at port.

I hope for 2016 that combat gets more interesting and improved. Sadly i cant enjoy combat so far
I hope for 2016 we see more complex crafting/farming and taming.
I hope for 2016 we will more fun that we have 2015 to gather with you guys.

But with a lot of games that picked up on the idea of an sandbox mmo rpg you have big competitors rising.
2016 will be a tuff year. Its up to you guys to show us what you are capable off.
And from time to time talk about how some implement features should be when the game starts.
It would be n1 to hear what the end result should be.

 

It seems things are going to be a bit hurried to me, we are in Pre-Alpha, very unfinished state, but yet the game is going to be rushed to beta by mid summer, and could be skipping feature complete stage of Alpha?

What changed that we are looking at a rush to beta? I'm not judging, I'm just curious to what is happening....

 

generally speaking alpha and beta phases are fairly quick with agile methodologies. they always said it would be a quick turnaround once pre-alpha is done, to alpha, and beta is even faster than alpha... i'm assuming (and i hate doing that) that action plan hasn't changed yet?