Stretch Goals

I accept VR support would likely lead towards simplifying the interface and making more of a console game than a great PC game. I just don't care. I want a great PC game. I don't want it to be very complicated, or have a huge learning curve that scares away less-than-fanatical Ultima fans, but I don't need another console RPG.

I even think Oculus Rift is interesting, it could possibly crack the code on taking VR mainstream. Maybe. I'm waiting to buy a dev kit until they upgrade them to 1080p. But I'll buy one. Still, is it just a coincidence that the best Oculus Rift demos (see http://www.gamesradar.com/best-oculus-rift-games/ ) seem to be Star Citizen-like space combat? That the game getting VR hype most is Eve Valkyrie, not a VR-version of WoW or any other RPG?

Unless SOTA is going to bring back the space combat from Ultima I or maybe the magic carpet (no, please don't) -- it's just hard for me to imagine VR making SOTA an amazing, NEW experience. Would I try it? Sure. I buy a lot of gadgets and I don't need much excuse to try a new one. But I'm probably an exception and most people don't waste money on tech the way we Oculus Rift fans do. If you're upset about VR not being a top priority, I get it, but ask yourself, will prioritizing VR over the game elements DarkStarr enumerated really help broaden the appeal of SOTA to a mass audience beyond Ultima fans? After a few decades building and selling software, I'm a little skeptical.

 

Yeah I remember a VR game at the arcade about 30 years ago. It was a pretty simple one on one shooter and pretty laughable by today's standards but my point is that it's nothing new. As the "next big thing".. well.. it's been the next big thing for longer than a lot of people here have been alive and it's still not quite there yet. There's no sense in rushing into it now. And no 30 yeas isn't a typo.. we're talking mid-80s here.

 

That is an unfair assumption. It was a stretch goal for the Kickstarter campaign which ended six months ago. That is a pretty significant amount of time. To put it another way - would you be saying the same thing if $2.5M was hit a couple months before launch?

Also, look around the forums a bit. The player demands are extraordinary and no doubt inspired ideas and plans well beyond what they originally figured. I wouldn't call that "not being as productive as they planned."

I'm sorry you were looking forward to VR at launch... I'm confident if it is not there at launch, it will be developed afterwards, and in the end it will be a solid game with solid VR features rather than both being rushed.

 

Starr,

Thanks very much for keeping us all up to date. Most people should be aware that scope creep is the number one killer of all things project related. I appreciate both your decision and your role here with the team to keep everything, as well as everyone, focused. I am glad these decisions are being made clear now, no matter what they are.

Keep up the great work everyone.

 

I'm personally a little annoyed at the timing of this rather than the fact it was done. I could care less about the VI but really wanted the 2.25 goal and as the end of kickstarter aproached RG said that strech goals would still exist after the end of kickstarter and that they could be worked towards paticually that goal which was reached so soon afterwards. To give radio silence on the issue even though it was asked about quite frequently and nothing was ever said to show that the aim had changed until AFTER the money was locked in is quite disingenuous, disrespectfull and just plain rude.

Again its not the goal I care about so much as the attitude towards it. If these were "maybes" then that should have been spelled out absolutly and if the attitude had changed after kickstarter closed then that should have been communicated early

 

Happy to hear. I have no problem with this and really like the focus on core values.

 

I understand where your coming from. The way I look at it, these kickstarter projects are a New Frontier. Difficult to judge and snafus will happen along the way. At least Starr came out and was honest with us. The core of the game is the most important at this point. Would I have liked more pledge goals (2.75, 3.0 mil), sure. But the reality is, we haven't lit the the sky on fire with pledges since kickstarter ended.

A lot of people are looking at Star Citizen (Averaging over a 100k a day) and wonder why they can't do the same. The issue is the genre. Swords, shield, orcs etc has been done to death. Since having played D&D and every other damn RPG from the early 80's, even i'm tired of it. SotA is the last game i'm playing concerning this genre. What is Star Citizen competing with? EVE online? Roberts has created a nice niche for himself.

By the way, i've had a few too many beers.....

Ok, so lets stick with these guys. Is it blind faith I have? No, I think all of the DEVs are the genuine article. Good people that share a common goal....to make a great game for us. This trip is gonna be rocky, but I know in the end...it will be worth it.

Trust in Gunga Din, Trust in RG, Trust in...arrrrggggg.......

 

Great Call.

Put VR way way way on the back burner

Its a terrible idea. Trust me

 

@Darkstarr: Will there be functioning whips in the game as a weapon choice?

 

I sure hope not. If there are functional whips in the game, i'll be banned the first week of release from griefing others

 

I'm glad to hear this. While these additional features would be neat I think focusing on those now would be a mistake. Keep making the core of the game great and no one will miss those stretch goals.

 

Amazing decision guys, and as you can see by the comments on here..... you have made everyone of your backers happy to know that the gameplay is the most important part for everyone involved in the playing and designing of SOTA.

 

using VR in PvP verses somebody who is looking at a third person view would put you at a disadvantage. I remember when UO first released their 3D client. Nobody who PvPed used it if they were smart. It slowed down the experience. VR would likely put you into the experience in first person mode and you would have a different perspective. If it doesn't give a disadvantage then it could possibly give an advantage over the non VR people. Either way having more than one way to experience the game that creates difference in how you interact with the world seems like a real problem.

 

That is actually a good point. In NWN the carmera was locked from being able to be zoomed in and out to a certain level. Later in the lifecycle a hack was released that allowed you to zoom into almost a 1st person perspective and out as far as the game engine designed the camera to go. This meant that people that did this could see a little further than people that did not. On PVP servers you learned about this trick the hard way and set it as soon as you could. It may not have mattered to melee's, but mage and archers would rock it hard.

I think eventually the game was patched to make this the default setting.

 

No whips for Ep 1 but long term I would love to have a entire "Flexible weapons" combat school for rope, chain, and whip type weapons.

 

Makes sense to wait for personal dungeons in Ep 2 for whips and chains.

 

"Whips, chains...wait what?" *Reads over SotA FAQ again*

 

*Sigh*
Well, I've had to wait so many years as is, so a few more won't matter... *Sigh*

*Falls to knees pulling his hair out* OH GOD WHO AM I KIDDING?!!!!! GIEF NAO!!!! *Pounds the ground with his fists* I'VE WAITED SO LONG! I.MUST.HAVE....!!!!!
*Swings the cat by it's tail a few times over his head before letting it fly over the wall*

*Slowly regains his composer*
Thank you Darkstarr for answering a simple mans question, I'll let this subject go for the time being.
*Goes looking for another cat...*

 

*cheers*

Focus on core, delay the VR... completely ok with me and what I hoped for... as many other folks apparently.

 

I thought it, but wasn't gonna say it..