Why so uncomfortable, clunky, complicated and "outdated"?

18 years, 10 months (almost)

 

I also think this is a great idea. Death should set a player back in time. Also it is a balance against power leveling.

 

Pokemon Go is not only an MMO, Pokemon Go is the biggest MMO in the world, and has been hailed as such by all major game journalists.

As for SotA, less is more is something I'm a fan of, new crosshairs that didn't need to be there?
That is an example of more is less.

 

For the same reason we need the same threads about PvP over and over again.

 

Rather then devs say "we are listening" - I would prefer they say "...and this is our plan to change and rectify this, this and this" or " we can't do this one for these technical reasons etc, but we can do that one", " this is how we expect to make SP quests very immersive" etc

Porty...wake up (in Gordon Ramsay voice)

 

And still the streamlining generated a playerloss in a size that Blizzard isn't willing to talk about numbers anymore.
The Process started with MoP and with Legion it reached a Level that the Forums and Blizzards newscast comment sections are so full of hate and rage that even I as an old school eve player get puzzled about it.

SotA is an anti-wow. At least in my mind it was always clear. To me that means the complexity is part of this anticoncept. I am sure a LOT of people actually backed the game BECAUSE of it.
Yes the HuD and UI could be better, no doubt, but I strongly belive most of us are here because it is no one click game.

 

As it's been mentioned a few times now, I have to ask - are some people really drawing an equivalence between Pokemon Go and SotA, as though they're effectively the same game but one has a better UI?

 

You know another game that can be played with just the mouse? This little thing called Shroud of the Avatar! You should check it out some time!

So in otherwords, we dont.

 

No. It is about how a game that is "streamlined" can be extremely fun and reach more people than a game with overly complex and complicated mechanics.
It is not about the UI only but also about how things are done in the game and how complicated this can get.

 

Honestly I think SOTAs UI (character paper doll, skill icon art, free form bag) are already superior to many games.

UI improvement often seems to be one of the later things to come along. so I bet we have more to look forward to.

 

1: Where is the uniqueness? Well first of all the game is not finish and there is still lots of stuff to be added and mechanics to be worked on ( the Devs said this in multiple videos )
2: Pokemon Go !!! -- SOTA game is not Solely about success ( It would be nice if it was as much as a success as Polemon go) and Sota game is of a different style completely and once again its not finished ( Polemon Go took what 10 years to complete!)
3: "Opening windows and lists and recipes to craft something" -"Wouldn't it be fun if we didn't have a hotbar with hundreds of skills" NOPE, I would be bored out of my skull and would not have invested into the game..

Sounds to me like you prefer a type of game that can be played on smart phone with little workings except what you see on screen.

 

I want immersion. A simulated world for me means that I act in the world and not in some lists, windows and menus. This is what I want. An immersive and natural, simulated world without being constantly ripped out of this world by having to open lists, windows etc.
I get the impression that some people here would love to have a screen full of lists, bars, windows, numbers, menus with as little screen for the world as possible.

I would be content if the offline mode would get its own UI and control scheme. A unique, atmospheric dialogue system, no chat window, a standard HUD that is absolutely minimalistic without having to turn off elements at first. If I want to have additional information I have to add it. Bag mode as standard mode for inventory. No bars, floating names or numbers...

The devs definitely have to spend much, MUCH more time on refining the offline mode and concentrate on it - not for the story only but to introduce SP gameplay elements that make the offline mode a true offline RPG experience. This is what I and many others gave their money for during the Kickstarter campaign. And this is what I demand from this game.

 

Fixed that for you.

"Immersion" has no singular definition.

 

"SUCCESS" - You keep using that word. I do not think Lord British thinks it means what you think it means.

There is clearly more to "success" here than simply appealing to the masses, making the most money off of a game in the shortest amount of time, and then moving on to the next thing.

Some players just aren't going to ever understand that. They don't understand why they would want to "work" to learn how to play a game. They don't understand why just pandering to the masses and giving them whatever they want isn't necessarily the ONLY way to make a game. They don't understand why there are some people who are concerned with other things than just making money and buying nice toys to play with.

Perhaps it is not so surprising that those same players are the ones who only care about how much in-game "wealth" they can accumulate quickly so that way they can brag about themselves and lord it over others. Whether a virtual world or the "real" world, people are still people.

Personally- I am happy that there are many game developers out there who will pander to whatever the masses want because it will hopefully keep those players away from this game. The more people that want to run around collecting their Pokemons inside the neighborhood Walmart, the better in my opinion. More power to 'em.

It's true- makers of those kinds of games will probably end up making more money in the end. But luckily there are some people left in this world for whom "success" is more than just dollar signs.

It's no different than from movies, music, television. Even food and drink. The masses always go for whatever is "convenient" and "simple" and the main guiding principle of behavior for the masses is to simply look around at "what everybody else is doing" and mimic that. Trendiness and conformity are values which are held most sacred above all else.

Some people don't want to have to listen closely to the lyrics of a song and try to decipher the poetry embedded there in order to get a glimpse into the songwriter's heart and mind, and to maybe get a new perspective on themselves and the world they live in.

They just want to listen to a song with a catchy hook and a beat "you can dance to." They don't actually care about musicianship or artistry, and they literally do not understand why anybody would want to listen to music that doesn't consist of a good dance beat with a catchy hook looped on top of it. If it's not a Top 10 hit, then it may as well not exist as far as they are concerned.

Let's face it- some people are totally beholden to lemmingism and there is little chance of anything breaking them out of it.

Does McDonald's make the best hamburger on the planet? No, but they certainly sell the most hamburgers on the planet. So maybe everybody should just try to make their burgers exactly like McDonald's hamburgers because they are ostensibly the most "successful" hamburger chain?

Obviously I don't think so. But many people do. They'll wait 15 minutes in a drive-thru line just so they can get their crappy burger from McDonald's because that's what they know and that's what they like and that's what they see most commercials on TV for, so therefore it must be the "best."

There's really no point in arguing about it. Therefore, I'm going to take my own advice and exit this thread.... buh-bye!

 

I couldn't agree more Rufus.

Immersion to me is the ability of a game to completely take over my attention. Can I lose myself for hours on end and not even realize I had been sitting there for that amount of time? If so, I was fully engaged and immersed in the game. For me, if the UI affects this negatively to the point of detracting from the enjoyment of the game then yea, I have a problem with it and won't stick with it. If I am fighting the UI instead of playing the game with it then I am not "immersed" in the game. Immersion to me doesn't mean I am running around with a gamepad and a few buttons with no visible UI. I have been playing games since before GUIs and have no problem using a keyboard and mouse at the same time. I am ok with lists in the UI. I am good with complicated screens. I am not looking for a VR game where everything is from the point of view of the character with no UI to speak of. I know this is a game...the thought that hitting the "A" button on a game pad instead of going through a menu isn't going to convince me otherwise.

I looked at Sea of Thieves. Watched some videos on the gameplay. Yea, that won't ever be my game. I also have not played Pokemon Go and won't play it. Call it an MMO if you want because technically it is true but you really need to understand that all games that allow a "massive" amount of players to play at once aren't all the same.

 

Very well explained point/feedback

 

SoTA can't be played with just a mouse, once in combat mode and under aggression you cannot move via mouse, if you have ranged targets you must move to them to engage in melee unless you are ranged as well... possible to play with just mouse, technically yes successfully no. To many details to go into as to how tedious game would be without a keyboard to aid you.

 

First of all, I'm thankful for all the developer interaction and care you are putting into this project.

That being said, I would have to agree with the OP. The fun factor of this game gets beaten down by the "Information Overload"-the walls of text, to the overly complex UI, to the vast amount of commands.

It's great that you're putting so many options in for different play styles, but please remember to focus on ease of use. Please take another look at some of the most popular games and see how they try to allow you to do more with fewer actions, clicks, button presses, etc. This is a very old example, but the simple addition of a "take all" button in Fallout 2 was a godsend. Before that you had to take all loot individually, and specify how much to take (if it was more than 1 of the same item).

Just like any good book, show or game, you need that hook that draws you in right away. The information overload that I referred to earlier just makes things tedious. I love the immersion you are trying to create, but pls remember that too much of anything (ie: text) that takes you away from your objective removes that immersion.

Thank you for your consideration

 

We dont need another MMO that is based on grinding and riding the hamster wheel. We need something different out there. By what I know, this MMO is being designed to be way outside of the normal MMO box. Your a character in a world, you can be the hero, you can be a shopkeeper, you can just form and make your own life if you want. Hell, be a farmer, maybe even in the future raise cattle or something.

This isnt like Neverwinter, or Black Desert, or Wildstar or whatever where the goal is to fight your way all the way to the "end game" and then treadmill your way through the same content a million times till the next release takes you to the next treadmill to run for the next 6 months for new gear and then onto the next treadmill so that you can get the gear that lets you get ready for the next treadmill...

The whole purpose of the run on sentence there is to discribe what SOTA is NOT suppose to be. Now as for the polish of the game. I've been playing it less then a week. I dont know the history. But I hope with the big names involved that in the future the game will become much more beautiful and smooth to play. If it doesnt then that will become a dealbreaker. Even if it is a beautiful story type game. Looks are important too. I am sure that the dev team know this.

As someone who's played a ton of MMO's going back to Ultima Online. I can tell you there is already more enjoyable content than in some MMO's I've played. Expecially Neverwinter. Which had/has beautiful streamline combat. But at endgame there is litterally only 3 or 4 different things to do with all your time. Grind dungeons, Grind PVP, Grind crafting (or their miserable excuse for it), and grind high end zones (mainly 2) for drops.

Shroud must not be that game.

 

good luck

So you dont want an inventory
or crafting
or any customizible gear
or maps
or compass
no hotbar/custom deck so only 2-3 skills
no skill trees

Idk how "fun" the game would be. Here is a list of game with very little ui/lists, tell me if you think its the right fit for sota

• Witcher 1. . You only have one armor - the one you wear. Same with weapons - you get one steel sword, one silver sword and one "sidearm". The only things you carry in your "backpack" are quest items, ingredients, jewelry and other minor items. Enchanced Edition adds compartments for ingredients and such, making them easier to keep track of. Still has lists
• Mass Effect 2 and 3. ME2 has no inventory to speak of. The downside is the lack of customization - your options are very limited and you'll end up using the same stuff all the time. ME3 improved on it still, giving us more customization. Still has lists
• Dragon Age 2. Sort of. It's mostly classic RPG fare, but the companions have their own armor that you only upgrade from time to time. It keeps micromanagement down and prevents them from wearing mismatched patchwork armor like they do in DA:O. And some DLCs add equipment that levels up with you. Still got dem lists.

Not sure what you are expecting really. A real life simulator where u can literaly grab some wood and a knife and carve it into the shape you want, then physicaly grap a hammer and nails, aim with the hammer and nail stuff together to make things. All while keeping what you want to use on the ground, cuz ya know no inventory list.

If you can think of a way large rpgs dont need lists then you will revolutionize the gaming industry.