We Need a list of stretch goals.

Here you go, from Friday night:

[20:09] <Rubber_Mcdoodle> IS there going to be another stretch goal anytime soon?
[20:09] <DarkStarr> Rubber Mc: No more stretch goals. WE need to focus on what we have promised you already

 

I think the GAME gets people to play. What it offers, how it plays, its mechanics, the PvP, etc. I play a game based off exactly what it offers. No one can recommend a game to me, I don't trust anyone's eyes but my own. Potential backers need to know more and more of what SotA will offer first. They are gonna want to know, it great detail, how PvP will be handled before they sign up. There are way too many games out there, you have to SHOW THEM THE GAME.

Thats how I feel at least. Hype and reviews and blah blah , don't get me to play. I have to see it for myself.

 

How about a list then of what was promised? Refresh my memory and i'm not talking just the kickstarter goals. Is there other content? Those things need to start becoming more clear before people decide to back this game. Most people are still confused and have no intention of pledging anytime soon (at least most of my friends).

 

I just think that every new stretch goal means more time.
I'm more for seeing some strech goals for the next expansion so we can get our hands on what they have got planned so far.

 

IMHO:
You'll never see such a list. Not before launch, not after. That's not how this works.
Core mechanics / underlying systems are not up for debate, detailed iterative discussion, nor in-depth collaboration in any meaningful sense.
"Guiding" the game, as per the dev+ kickstarter goal, to date, means providing content. Assets: music, textures, models, animations, particle effects. All the things that utilize core mechanics / underlying systems, rather than affect them.
You're not going to get the clarification you require until the mechanics are in place and set in almost dry concrete, at which point, it's far too late to "guide" anything. The innovative features are "done". Scope is set for launch. It's ~a year until then, and my suspicion is, it'll just barely be enough time to get the story/main plot line in place and tested. (remember, we haven't seen word one of the story/plot/books yet)

I truly wish it were a different story, Gunga Din, but that's the harsh reality of these development cycles, in my experience.

The fine details that I (possibly you) and that faceless horde of backers want, regarding: pvp, combat, ui, crafting, harvesting, guilds, pvp-goals, world plot, economy, travel, effects, death, traps, perception, invisibility/stealth, zone-line-camping, repair, consumption, RMT, microtransactions, pay-to-win, diminishing returns, loot tables, drop rates, salvaging, enchanting, luck based success, latency consequences, cooldowns, justice system, procedural content, skills, spells?
Mysteries until revealed. Once revealed, very very very very very difficult to change.

At least, that's my opinion on how it's going to play out.

 

Ok, so it occurs to me that we are nearly at the end of the funding period before alpha. A 'final push' campaign makes sense, but there may not be much time for complex plans. Still fun to think about tho

I'd like to know, how and if funding will continue after the deadline for alpha. will there be other pre-order packages that just don't include testing privelages? Will sales of houses and lots continue in the add-on store until and/or after launch?

So my request to the devs then would be any information that will help us to be most effective as a support community at this time and then moving into the alpha phase and beyond. Where should we be focusing our efforts?

 

We could start by putting together a list of

I agree with Gunga that a comprehensive list of what this game will have would be useful in pulling in new players. I know that if I had more information, I'd be able to sell this to my friends better (those that game at least).

 

Yea, thats exactly my point, better explained by Mordecai. My friends ask about SotA and I have a tough time describing the game. Whats the PvP gonna be like? Arenas? Warzones? I don't know, I tell them.

I'd like some leaflets made up so I can go door to door

 

I know it would be nice to have all that information, but that information probably won't be available until well into beta. Just as vjek was trying to explain, if I understand correctly. You guys need to work on your virtue of patience.

 

I think stretch goals are only part of the equation. Star Citizen did things right, in that you could sell back your pledge to upgrade. I had to come in late to that party, too. However, they got several hundreds of dollars from me still. Add-ons, and content there are enticing. Very little was limited to KS only or veteran backers and the gap wasn't a chasm like it feel here between ks and current backers. Pricing was a little different but that's expected. They still have stretch goals, but that's not what brings in the money for further funding. It's simply what they're putting the money towards.

I may have it all wrong but why would anyone want to up their pledge now? From what I can see, you have to pay more and get less. Unless there is a mechanic where early backers still have access to the original packages? I would hope so, as it seems like to do otherwise would shoot yourself in the foot.

Being a late comer, I really wanted to jump in on the Knight level. I didn't mind paying a little more, but then realized all the stuff that doesn't come with it anymore. Feels too much like I missed the boat. The gap just feels a bit too wide when it comes to exclusivity. Having add-ons in the store is a great idea, and a step in the right direction I think. New content brings both original and new backers to the table, and the sales are a great way to kick things off. They're not tied to existing pledges, and open things up a bit. I'll still pledge for some things, but it's only a fraction of what I would have put in on an original package. The Star Citizen model seems to be working for them, with over $20+ mill currently. The final KS totals weren't dissimilar.

 

Oculus of the Avatar.

 

Here are previous milestones.

1.1 M : Pet System : Social and Combat Pets players can control
1.2 M : Seasonal Weather
1.3 M : Interactive Musical Instruments
1.4 M : Taming Extended : Certain Monsters as Pets

SotA 1.5 M - 2.5 M Stretch Goals

I'm sure this has been posted many times, but never hurts to remind new and veteran backers.

 

To answer your question, yes, early backers still get the original "founder" items if they upgrade, for 1 year from their original pledge date.

 

I've been looking into creating a succinct "What is SotA/what is it offering?" page for newbies that doesn't involve treading through a bunch of FAQs, but, yeah not a lot of detail has been revealed yet... and then if you start to get into every little bit that has been "promised", it's no longer succinct.

I started it last night and I'll post it when I get something together.

 

I was thinking about breaking it down into the knowns and unknows.

Knowns : Housing, Taming Pets, the listed Stretch Goals

Unknowns: PvP , we know there will be, but no details yet.

I'd make it so you can update it as info is released. I'd do it, but you would do a nicer job .

Main thing is to not make it seem that certain aspects, that were spoken about briefly, are believed to be facts, when they are just ideas so far.

 

I realize there aren't any more stretch goals, but what I would love to see are little things that build on the current features and experience rather than add more.

With every respect to Star Citizen (I'm also a backer there), their stretch goals are adding features that are a little unrealistic (like planet-side FPS combat). You can't just simply throw more money and resources at something...it's much more complex than that. I'm glad to see that SotA has ambitious but realistic goals in mind.

Anyhow, I would love for SotA to have a fully-orchestrated soundtrack. Or a graphic novel. To me, that would be a realistic and valued goal - where it doesn't take resources from the core game development, to achieve.

 

This is what I came up with as something to help people new to the project. The beginning is just their "About" description from the homepage - the rest I wrote up. Please let me know if you'd like to suggest any changes!

(edit) I have it posted up now, so this is the current version~
http://forsakenvirtues.com/2013/09/30/what-is-shroud-of-the-avatar-2/


X

 

LOL, sorry about the giant images. They weren't meant to be that big. XD

 

Dame Lori: Really great job of describing Shroud of the Avatar to those new to the project! Of course, you always do an outstanding job of getting all of us the key information about SOTA on your Forsaken Virtues website (Even though I spend quite a bit of time in the forums, I still tend to miss a lot!)