An honest opinion

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Lord_Darkmoon, Sep 2, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Lord_Darkmoon

    Lord_Darkmoon Avatar

    Messages:
    4,350
    Likes Received:
    14,680
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Many might think: Oh Lord_Darkmoon ist posting something negative again but I want to share my opinion and feelings about SotA with you.

    Yes I am disappointed - again.
    I have the feeling that the devs are focusing everything on housing and the social aspects of this game - and the story, the quests, the single player aspects are pushed more and more into the background.
    The latest development that we hear in a post that scenes with player houses cannot have instances was devastating to me. This means that in every city of the game we cannot have quests with real consequences. The scenes cannot change, which basically means no sieges, no destroyed cities, no leaders that can be overthrown, no NPCs that can die, no NPCs that can "change" or move away... this limits the scope of the quests - although it has been said that the we would get choices and consequences in the game.

    I get the impression that story, immersion, atmosphere, etc. are no longer important. Features like NPC companions are only implemented half-heartedly as are the NPC schedules with NPCs not having homes but instead using beds they just find. The quests seem to implemented half-heartedly, single player features are pushed back again and again. Instead housing is the focus. It is more important to have a great housing system than have interesting and great quests with consequences - in a story-driven game!
    PvP is more important than story as even in story related scenes there is now open PvP and people who just want to do the quest are forced to take some special route instead of letting them explore the scene freely. Or they have to become lambs for the PvP wolves.
    Also with so many decorative items available for housing why are most NPC houses still so empty and bland? All of this gives the impression that the whole story/quest/NPC/narrative and single player aspect of the game has become a burden and nuisance for the devs who rather want to concentrate on making a sandbox MMORPG. This is a disappointing development.
    You might say that the game is still in development and that things can change and get better. And that I should just wait for "my" features to be implemented and the SP aspects to find their way into the game. But then why don't we hear about this? Why is no one talking about this? It has been said that the the story will come, that the SP features will come. But then we see a development that totally goes in the opposite direction. For example that we now hear that instances are not possible in cities - making it impossible to have real consequences to quests in cities. And I ask myself: What? How can SotA still become a great story-driven RPG with a single player narrative when there are no consequences to my choices? What happened and why did this happen? And why wasn't this announced?
    And I also ask myself:
    Will we get quests with real consequences in cities?
    Will NPCs get their own homes?
    Why are companions nothing more than talking pets that can be summoned?
    Why are quests not more complex, varied, full of twists and surprises? Why are they more like standard MMO quests? Where is the "single-player narrative"?

    If the game changed to a sandbox MMO and SP and quests/story etc. are just half-heartedly implemented to fulfill the Kickstarter promises then the devs should just state it. Then they can remove the unwanted features and just do the sandbox MMO. At least this would be the honest way to deal with the situation.

    Or just tell us what the plans are for creating a single-player narrative and answer the questions above.

    Sorry to be negative again but in the last weeks there have only been negative news for the story- and SP fans of SotA...
     
  2. Headquake

    Headquake Avatar

    Messages:
    99
    Likes Received:
    237
    Trophy Points:
    20
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    I kinda agree with some of the stuff you say. But for me what make me affraid is that i don't have heard of new items in game like more craft , more armor. I have not ear about any new monsters , new dungeons etc.. but we keep seing new stuff for the add-on store and new house model etc... each week. A lot of people i play with are really affraid that they just have stop adding new content to the game to focus more on the add-on store,

    Why is it taking so much long time to get dye for leather armor ? Like they don't have the time right now but they have the time to work on new house bundle , new emote , new decorative cloth , new mask etc... I think a lot of people want some solide in game content more than add-on store content right now.

    I understand that the game is not finish or near to be finish but even when you look at the roadmap there is not really so much meat incoming. I'm just asking myself is there a day they gonna say : Ok i thing the game is fund now , lets work on it.

    I think they already have one of the best housing system out there , so please stop working on it and jump on adding new content to craft , pvp and pve . They need to stop working on housing right now since there is lot of stuff wich is really really far from finish and housing systeme is like at 95 % .

    I would really have no issue with the add-on store and selling stuff on it , yeah i understand they need to make money , but only if they were adding new solid content to the game at the same time.
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2016
  3. Bow Vale

    Bow Vale Avatar

    Messages:
    1,729
    Likes Received:
    4,699
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Pericaliya
    Every day near enough i see the same posts by you, full of negativity over one thing or another....i haven't ignored anyone here for any reasons, but I'm seriously getting so bored of seeing the same old stuff bought up by you every day. Go through your posting history it looks like a big black cloud of doom....im bored of it in all honesty and thus you my first ever blocked person on the boards.

    That's my honest opinion...
     
  4. docdoom77

    docdoom77 Avatar

    Messages:
    1,274
    Likes Received:
    3,381
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Latveria
    Right? And many features important to a single player experience like: interactive companions, time advancement, sleeping, etc, have been pushed into "not in the plan for Episode 1." If we have to wait for episode 2 (or later... or never) for such "make or break" features, then we have every right to ignore advice like: "please be patient." Episode 2 or later is not in the realm of patience, it's firmly in the realm of "your play experience is no longer important to us."
     
  5. 2112Starman

    2112Starman Avatar

    Messages:
    3,613
    Likes Received:
    7,989
    Trophy Points:
    165
    I dont see a person attack there, I only see a thread cop. Please stop, thats Pol's job
     
    Snowdog likes this.
  6. 2112Starman

    2112Starman Avatar

    Messages:
    3,613
    Likes Received:
    7,989
    Trophy Points:
    165
    I dont see a person attack there, I only see a thread cop. Please stop, thats Pol's job
     
  7. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

    Messages:
    6,334
    Likes Received:
    14,098
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Thats... incorrect. What I understood the intent was that cities (any zone with player housing) would not be instanced separately for different players at the same time. So sieges, fallout, recovery, etc, are all entirely possible, but all players would experience those things together in the same instance.

    What you are correct about is that substantial changes to NPCs *in the base city* will not change without some backing development process. I've mentioned this in other threads, but Unity can selective hide/show assets based on flags for the player. I'm assuming this is how the Astrolabe, which will show you the outline of the stars, will work: the base sky is still shown for everyone else, but this other version of the sky will be turned on for you only. The same thing can be done with NPCs to selectively show/hide them from a user. The only downside is that not all players will see the same assets, so it can look like other players are talking to themselves when they are conversion with an NPC that "died" to you.

    NOTHING about non-instancing affects the game decisions in the long run. It simply means that players will continue to be instanced together, and other mechanisms are needed for best results.
     
    Leostorm, Jynx, Fauxpas and 2 others like this.
  8. 2112Starman

    2112Starman Avatar

    Messages:
    3,613
    Likes Received:
    7,989
    Trophy Points:
    165
    This game is alpha still. Most of the things you note are very much the things they are really starting to work on now. If you are having a hard time with this, return to the game in Q1 2017 and then make a determination if they have failed you after they have finished creating the content.
     
  9. Lord_Darkmoon

    Lord_Darkmoon Avatar

    Messages:
    4,350
    Likes Received:
    14,680
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Please don't think that I like being negative or that I want to hurt the game. I want it to be great! But I also want to understand why things are the way they are and if I can expect the game to become what I excpect it to become.

    I would think that if PvP or housing would have been pushed back further and further and then something half-hearted would be shown, fans would react the same way.

    I also understand that there are people here who like the path SotA has taken and feel offended when someone tries to steer it into the Kickstarter direction again. This is ok. But don't you think that I am the only one who feels the way I described above. There are places outside of this forum where SotA is not regarded so high - because of the recent development and the many changes.
     
    ibad2, Forseti, Vagabond_Sam and 5 others like this.
  10. Headquake

    Headquake Avatar

    Messages:
    99
    Likes Received:
    237
    Trophy Points:
    20
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    Pvp have been push further and further . Go take a look in pvp zone : empty of players , empty chest ( yes there is chest but no loot in them ) , same 2 monster in each zone . The only thing i see in pvp zone right now is they have had more wood in verdantis shardfall and 3 dragon in grunvald. You open a chest in any generic npc town and find stuff in but you open 10 chest in pvp zone and they are all empty ? O_O
     
  11. Drocis the Devious

    Drocis the Devious Avatar

    Messages:
    18,188
    Likes Received:
    35,440
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    PVP has been pushed back 1 million times. I just don't make a new thread about it everyday.

    I understand that we have competing influences and that we have to be patient. I spend my time providing actionable and constructive feedback instead of just complaining about the wait.
     
    Lord Bankee and Leostorm like this.
  12. 2112Starman

    2112Starman Avatar

    Messages:
    3,613
    Likes Received:
    7,989
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Starr and Richard did say that PvP has taken on a new high priority during the telethon.
     
  13. Lord_Darkmoon

    Lord_Darkmoon Avatar

    Messages:
    4,350
    Likes Received:
    14,680
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Shouldn't the change of some scenes to open PvP not provide those scenes with a steady influx of PvP players?
     
    Pickley likes this.
  14. Drocis the Devious

    Drocis the Devious Avatar

    Messages:
    18,188
    Likes Received:
    35,440
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    What's your point?

    The ball will continue to move slowly. There are competing interests. PVP will get a little bit of love and then have to go to the back seat again. That's how it works. PVP didn't become the center of the universe, nor will it. At some point single player will take the front seat and all the other main features will sit back and collect dust. It's a small team, that's how it works.
     
  15. Headquake

    Headquake Avatar

    Messages:
    99
    Likes Received:
    237
    Trophy Points:
    20
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    Nop , me and some guild mate this week have been to pvp zone a few times. We had to make some different stuff from grinding and decide to roam a little bit in pvp zone to change our mind. Well after i will say 3 session of 2-3h taking a look in all pvp zone we have seen 3 other guy in total. So i will say in 6-9h of roaming in those zone we have seen 3 other players...all the monster were the same everywhere , with the same loot , there was a few chest but all empty , 50 % of the scene just look the same . Yes there was 3 dragon in one , but they are so much more end game stuff right now , that i would say that is not really the kind of content that gonna bring people there before a few month .

    Yes the change the have made is a good start ( only acces those zone in multiplayer ) but pvp need a lot more love . This change is like giving painkiller to someone who just walk on a mine. It help make it less painfull but don't fix the problem ;p
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2016
  16. majoria70

    majoria70 Avatar

    Messages:
    10,347
    Likes Received:
    24,869
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    United States
    ahhh Sorry Lord Darkmoon. You have fantastic ideas. Any ideas you see like the social aspect as in the thread I just put up are all part of the whole. I do not believe your ideas are going unnoticed. A lot of things are not seen due to tech and resources available to the team. They can only tackle so much and if you rally for the things you want to see, then I say just keep it up.

    Any idea someone posts is not a criticism or voiding someone else's idea. I don't say I want waltzing and dances that are not so silly looking, more stylish looking clothing in the game to void the story being there, really no way, I say it as a contribution to getting the damn cupboard built. ;) I want fun and great quest lines and story lines as well. I want them to feel satisfying and surprising to us.

    Perhaps if we could look at the game as the framework of a cupboard that has not been sanded, stained, or painted. It doesn't even have door knobs on it yet, or as in perhaps many cases it doesn't have doors , or shelves in many more cases. We are at the framework stage of so much and our input into all aspects of the game is very important. So no one give up at this point, we have come so far. Fight those battles for this game to be the best it can be, and then do it again. Forum posts from other forum backers are not taking away from the whole product. If it is well thought out and seen as important then it will be added to the jira list. There is only patience as to when some things are added and why they are not added are known by the Dev team who have their own issues and demands to deal with in getting everything in. We just remind them over and over and show just cause as best we can. So *cheers* as always.
     
    Snazz, Forseti, Budner and 4 others like this.
  17. Onyx

    Onyx Avatar

    Messages:
    460
    Likes Received:
    1,199
    Trophy Points:
    55
    As far as PvP zones are concerned I think they made some amazing changes recently. I can no longer gather there as the PvPer's have found that with multiplayer only (which I always use) there are more folks to kill now. ie, there are more PvP folks. Okay, but if killed over and over just for practice the shardfalls will once again be a "desert". Regarding the OP: same old same old
     
  18. 2112Starman

    2112Starman Avatar

    Messages:
    3,613
    Likes Received:
    7,989
    Trophy Points:
    165
    I think your read way to far into that post with a little anger mode going on.

    The point was that Richard and Starr said in the telethon that PvP is being bumped up in importants now.

    So I will read into that for you a bit, that means we can probably start seeing some PvP love in the next few releases.

    That's it, nothing more for you to infer from the statement then that.
     
  19. Beaumaris

    Beaumaris Avatar

    Messages:
    4,289
    Likes Received:
    7,415
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Caladruin
    I think the quest game needs to some love.

    While I greatly appreciate the NPC interactive chat as an approach to get into quests, I think the team might need to innovate just a little more to make that truly more engaging.

    Not sure what it is about this format, but I don't find myself all that compelled to go looking for quests. Not much is compelling me into them other than the need for fill my XP bucket.

    We might malign games with yellow exclamation points over NPC heads (I know it is not my favorite), but that approach did create a 'feel compelled to click on me for something good' draw.

    What is the equivalent in SOTA, given that it is difficult to tell which NPCs have a good quest available and which do not?

    As is, I find grinding more interesting. Which just seems wrong.
     
    Kaisa, majoria70 and Pickley like this.
  20. Lord_Darkmoon

    Lord_Darkmoon Avatar

    Messages:
    4,350
    Likes Received:
    14,680
    Trophy Points:
    153
    I think that it hurts the quests that there are no consequences to them or to the scenes (for scenes with player homes) as this does take away the incentive to do the quests. Why do a quest when it doesn't have any consequence?
    Why should I try to expose the arsonist when nothing happens to him? Why should I kill the dragon overlord when he respawns again? Why should I attack the undead army when there is nothing at stake, when they would never be able to destroy the city or kill the NPCs?
     
  21. Beaumaris

    Beaumaris Avatar

    Messages:
    4,289
    Likes Received:
    7,415
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Caladruin
    Aye, an example is the arsonist. After busting him, does anyone get a reaction out of him later about that? I haven't seen that yet but maybe I am not typing some right key word.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.