Disappointed

I have always and will always love the Ultima series. I played UO for years and LOVED that as well. I am very disappointed in the direction this game is going. There is a very thin line in pay to win and giving awards to people that back your project.

I don't know if I am the only person here that is tired of the Here is the new house you can buy just for prepurchasing updates and nothing about what's going on with the game. I have lost a lot of respect for Richard Garriott which I loved all his games. This seems more like give me more money and less about making the game he wants.

If there was a way at this point I know that me and other friends of mine would get our money back so we didn't support this type of behavior.

I guess I will say it because I know it will happen. Let the flames begin...

 

Wait until the game comes out. Make no mistake, microtransactions are an awesome way to generate cash at any stream during production and the game is sure to have some... But keep in mind, the days are very young yet, it is just too early to say that all SotA will be is only going to be microtransactions and that you have lost respect for RG... Give it a chance first. Get involved and produce legitimate arguments before posting disappointed type messages.

 

I know what you are saying and I agree that microtransactions are a good way to make money. I just feel that this is all they have been pushing is a little more money. I really do hope for a good game there have not been a really good game of this type come out in so long. I hope he surprises me with the game but at this point all I hear is money money money. I feel as if that is the main thing about the game is money because that is all I hear about is the new stuff you can buy. I would like updates to be more of what's going on in the production and less about what you can buy.

Most of the updates are about a house you can buy for money but not in-game cash with an afterthought of oh and here is a little info on male avatars.

 

And this is the side-effect of releasing information about a game three months after development starts, as opposed to three months before release.

There will be slow-information times, people will just have to get used to it. Development is working, I'm sure there will be times when we get more information than we know what to do with all in a short period of time.

 

I have no intent to flame - your feelings are perfectly valid.

I don't see it as a money grab however. The game would succeed just fine at this point without further donations. I see the new additional housing options going for sale because some people have been fairly vocal requesting the ability to "own" homes without having to take the plundge to Citizen level. I believe these new options are a direct result of these requests. People want to contribute more to the game, but they don't see a feasible option if the next donation level (citizen, knight, lord, etc) is out of reach. That's where these smaller purchases come in.

After all, the more money that gets donated, the greater a game we all get to enjoy.

 

What's with impatient people? Come back in another six-eight months and see how things are shaping up. If it isn't approaching your expectations then, then you may have cause to gripe.

 

This is not microtransactions; they are crowdfunding the development of the game. There is a major difference in these too things. It is wise to raise as much money as possible to create a safety net should issues come up during development, and if no problems come up then this can be used to add polish to the game with more bug fixes, animation improvements, etc. Without this reserve of funds a significant issue could cause the game to not get finished at all.

We have no details yet about how/if microtransactions will be in game. The only example of microtransactions so far was a fee to allow you to upload an image to use on a shield. This fee offsets the cost of a person reviewing the image to make sure it is phallic-free.

Right now they are just trying to raise money to go into the game's developement. If you would rather write a check for 3-4 million dollars I am sure they will stop selling houses right now, but since no one is stepping up they are providing items to allow you to get something for providing a little more cash. These are all cosmetic and provide no real benefit to success in game. A plot or house is really just bragging rights as none of these things will do anything to put you ahead. You might save a little time and money at the beginning, but I bet you many people who are not involved in the crowdfunding will surpass pledgers within a week of the game going live.

If this type of thing is not to your liking then just wait for the game to get released and deal with this game in a traditional matter; however this game is not like Zynga or pay-to-win. They just want to make the game, and most of us pledged to make sure it would happen.

 

How about the ongoing art development via weekly Pen of the Avatar episodes? The iterative process of male and female avatar design, along with the request for feedback? Or the Unity assets, dungeon construction set, the Unity tutorials and contest? The community has been asked for feedback on crafting tables, house basements. cave construction, animations, FAQ review, to name but a handful.

Even if you're only paying attention to the Kickstarter updates you've seen scenario discriptions, an explanation of Selective Multiplayer, Dev videos, Concept art, terrain and weather rendering, a video contest and much more.

The devs have been very responsive about game development and have certainly not been focusing only on money.

 

@drakin316
I think it is just a sign of the development stage they are currently in. Right now they are working on building. On building the graphics, the art, the layouts, the inhabitants etc. If you pay attention to the updates, they have been all about things they created.

Now, surely it is clear that development cost money. Of course Portalarium received a good chunk of money from us, but don't kid yourself, it is chump change compared to what a game like this cost to create. Every penny we give them gives us a better game.

So, while they are in this building phase, they are creating new houses and layouts and stuff to give us (and others) another opportunity to upgrade our pledge, or to buy in for the first time. Let's say a dev is working on 5 village house types, 1 is player purchasable, 3 are NPC and 1 is for backers if they choose to chip in extra $. It's not like *all* they are doing is creating stuff to sell us.

As development moves forward, you will begin seeing more updates about mechanics. Decisions will be made on how the game does this and that. Which skills make it in and which don't. How the bounty system works, how PvP works etc. All of those things haven't been decided yet because not only are they very important and incindiary topics, but there is no way to test any of these decisions without a playable world.

So relax, be patient. Game development works in phases and it is simply not at the point yet where the answers you want are ready to be discussed.

 

We just need a "sausage making of the avatar" episode every now and then.

 

I am working my way to Edelmann and then finish with knight my plan. I understand how you feel money money money, BUT you need money to produce a good game take Stronghold 3 they ran short and put out a Alpha game as a finished product JUNK. and i look at is as if you want to play to have somthing go for it. i am buying things to proggress the game not for my use I would like to have a sword or Helm or crest to show off what i gave not a house, but then again i am getting a nice house, oh and i bought then viking house i dont like it but i bought it.

 

We're all giving money to the development of the game because we want this game to be our new home. It just so happens that the more you invest in the game (both through crowdsourced funding and also ideas/ingame objects) the more you get back.

What they have done is offer a more affordable way of getting a rent free house than paying the $550 citizen level backing. Personally, I think that's very nice of them to do so. If you can't afford it, or don't want to set up a lay away plan, then simply don't. Wait until the game starts and buy your house with ingame gold.

 

Hold on there. Where can I find a rent-free plot (all houses are rent free) for less than a citizen pledge?

 

Just as clarification, the add-on plots are not rent free. However, it is still a good way to have a plot and house at launch without having the steep Citizen pledge.

https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=9085
(NOTE: Village Lot Property Deeds purchased through the Add-On Store will have an in game currency tax that must be paid monthly or the lot reverts to being for sale and the Lot Deed is returned to the owner. Backers at Citizen level and above receive a tax exempt Lot Deed. All lot deeds are transferable between players. First priority will be given to backers for lot choice. The order will be determined by amount of pledge. Backers will be given an exclusive window to choose their lots. Each backer can choose exactly one lot during the window. The next window will be given to those who purchase lots from the Add On Store. After that window lot choice will be open to all players )

 

Oops! thanks for the clarification Umbrae

 

The Add-On store doesn't really have too many items.

Silver Pendant
Tracy Hickman Books
Viking house
Village Land Deed
Goodwill Donation

Star Citizen just launched Voyager Direct. Add-on store for some items to be used in your hangar. People complained about microtransactions and the price, so Roberts lowered the price on a few items offered in the store (after getting feedback). The initial complaints seemed to have subsided, but they stated anything in the Voyager store could be obtained in game.

To be honest, I hope they continue to add items of all kinds (Virtual and Physical) to increase funding. No one is forcing you to buy anything. You don't like what they added this month? Don't buy it.

I'd would just like clarification if any of the items (physical not included) may be obtained through normal gameplay at some point. If not, I don't really mind, but would be cool if somethings could be obtained during the course of the game (maybe some special events etc). It may relieve the tension between those in favor and against microtransactions.

 

I don't see these add-ons as pay to win, if the game was to turn into a pay to win as in buying better than standard items I would probably give it up very quickly

 

@Drakin I take it winning the game to you means owning property as I don't see much else in the way of items for sale. It's strange as this was made prevelant at the luanch of the game so not sure why this would become an issue for you now can you please explain further?
No doubt you realiase that the deeds where a draw card to entice people to pledge towards this project to insure it's survivablity and to see its creation. Of course without it you and I wouldn't be here as the game wouldn't exist and if did somehow scrape through it would not be as rich as what we will come to see.

I think we all have different views here on what winning is some may be to own a property while others might be a legendary hero or insert goal here, personally I don't have any Win card on my table I just look at this as a big open world in which to explore, enjoy and be immersed in.

In reference to: "Most of the updates are about a house you can buy for money but not in-game cash with an afterthought of oh and here is a little info on male avatars."
The amount of updates and the scope of information that RG and the team have released has been very extensive they have covered everything from questing, some very early battle information, looting, crafting, movement, character development, construction, design, I'm sure you get the idea.

In the mean time instead of complaining please why not tell us all what you would like to hear about SOTA, the team are always looking for great ideas and feedback from the community?

With regards to the housing updates of late don't you think its fair to let thouse that have invested this much a glimps to see their property at last? For some of us this is what we've been waiting for a chance to see what we will get so we can make informed descisions on further upgrades.
I actually hope we see more articles like the ones we have seen in particular looking forward to seeing more on the Wizards tower.

 

Regarding the Wizard's Tower, prices are going to have to be insanely (membranely?) high to prevent half the game from sporting one. The Edelmann's, Founder's, and the other houses are cool, but they just don't compare.

 

It seems this way for many, some think/act like they've won the game and haven't even played it yet.

Shroud of The Realtor