Is Selective Multiplayer working or will it destroy SotA?

I read more and more complaints about the Selective Multiplayer approach of SotA. People who play solo or in FPO have advantages, people playing in MPO, flagging for PvP get more EXP... There is is this exploit and that. People seem to be very unhappy with how the game is developing in regards to Selective Multiplayer.
And let's face it, this feature is one of the hardest to do right in the game. Simply because of the balacing. Basically every mode should be equal, which I think is near impossible to accomplish.
Sometimes the devs have to fix exploit A which is causing problem B. A fix for MPO feels to cause some imbalance in FPO and SPO, a fix for SPO and FPO leads to imbalance in MPO... It seems to be like fighting a losing battle.

This makes me think if the whole Selective Multiplayer aspect has been thought through from the beginning. And you know what? My answer is yes. Yes, I think that it has been thought through but in a very different way. Going back to the Kickstarter campaign and watching the old videos, it is obvious that SotA originally was a very different game. Richard Garriott himself has said back then that he wants to create a "basically soloplayer game with the option to play online". Just look at how the sieges were planned back then...
From this perspective, Selective Multiplayer would have worked. We basically play a soloplayer game, join with friends for coop-fun from time to time and party with other people in MPO mode occassionally. In my mind a very unique and interesting concept. Basically something the Elder Scrolls fans wanted to have for a very long time...
But the game has changed. Some people pushed it into the MMO corner which caused the whole story, quest, choices and consequences and even the Selective Multiplayer aspect to collapse in on itself. Judging from playing the game and reading comments, it simply doesn't work anymore. There are way too many issues and even more come up again and again.

So a question to the community: Do you think that the Selective Multiplayer aspect of SotA still works and will lead to a game in which every mode will be equal? Or will the game devour itself because of this concept?

 

Every mode cannot be equal. If it would be like that all other modes would be obsolete. They need to balance those modes which they are doing right now.

Going more into the MMO direction and get that done first was the best they could do. Story etc. can always be added to that...

 

I still think that a "single player narrative" cannot work on a MMO foundation. Which we now see with the "consequences" to our actions...

 

Quite simply: it is not destroying the game.

Yes there are aspects that some people will complain about, and that applies to pretty much any feature of any game. Definitely doesn't mean the game is going to fall apart.

And I, like you @Lord_Darkmoon , am looking forward to the single player aspect being completed and I am pleased that progress is being made toward that every release. I really don't think it will come any faster by trashing the other aspects of the game.

 

I don't think it's perfect in it's current state, but I also don't think leaving it as-is would destroy the game by any means.

 

This should never have evolved in the direction it is heading now: towards an mmo. Far too much time and resources are being wasted on balancing, player economy, exploits and they haven't even started on pvp yet ... I forsee a very bleak future in which no one will get the game they want or expected and everyone will become increasingly frustrated.
Mmo development is just wasted on me personally. Besides, as soon as the next big thing comes along a lot of vocal mmo fans will simply move on. Mmo's are over and done with, there's a steady decline going on for a few years now.
I'm still waiting for an awesome single player experience like U7.

 

Dose it need fine tuning?
Hellyeah.
Will it destroy the game?
I doubt it. Sure I am as well pissed about the missing consequences.

 

Personally, solo features are wasted on me. I am only interested in the MMO side, and wish they didn't have to worry at all about the solo issues, balancing, etc. But I know a lot of people disagree and feel the opposite so...hopefully they are able to find the time, resources, and skill to make both work. I do disagree with the contention that "you can't have a solo game based off an MMO"...they have to get all the systems in place for MMO, then the story can be bolted on top of that.

 

I personally think that after the game is running properly with no more 30 second to 1 minute zone times and serious lag with other players that single player and friends only should be segregated from the rest of the game.

If you want to play alone, then you should just play alone. The multiplayer aspect of the game is suffering because people want to exploit all the resources for themselves. If everyone was in multiplayer people would start to use all the content, instead of everyone creating their own instances of the same zone.

Single player and friends only people can play their game that way (I'm betting almost no one would), and the rest could play an active populated world. I believe this is one of the only options for this games long term success. People don't want to play empty games, it gives off a feeling of failure.

 

Comparison to others is what the game/ life destroys for some people!

 

As much as I would like to relive that 'U7 experience', I seriously doubt that this will happen nor will the narrative of this story ever come close to matching it. The focus of late has been heavily pushed towards the MMO/PvP experience as of late because Port realizes that this is where they will draw in the most funding from players. It is an absolute certainty that not everyone will be happy with the end results.

 

If they did that I would find another game to play.

 

I like the multiplayer options, though I understand how SPO can be seen as more of a cop-out. I can see times when I'd only want my friends around. And I can see times when you should be forced to go full multiplayer, like when entering a full PvP area. Offline folks have a whole other set of concerns.

As someone who works in product marketing, you position a product and see what people think. If you get feedback the consumer wants feature Y instead of feature X, you go where the money lies unless it's far outside your expertise. They did what a business is supposed to do; serve the needs of the customer. There probably isn't enough of either type of player (solo or multiplayer) to fully fund this game. It'd be great if we all could work it out.

I see SotA as a new type of game. It's one where you jump in and out of experiences as you desire. Some people want to stay in the cities and build houses. Some go adventuring to earn money, gather materials, go foraging. Some want to follow the story line only, offline or online. Some are hoping for more robust combat and PvP. That's a lot of expectation.

I plan on doing all of it. I'm learning to fight so I can gather resources. I'm learning to craft so I can sell goods. I'm going to solve the quests to build up XP for advancement and when I have a home finally I'm going to hang out in town enjoying myself. I know eventually a quest will send me into a dangerous area where I could lose something. I don't have to complete the quest. It's all my choice.

That's what I see happening with this game. And I approve.

 

I'd like to see PVP use selective multiplayer more effectively.

For example, I'd like to see 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4 scenes, etc...where you knew you could get a fair fight and not be outnumbered. Sandbox shouldn't mean gankbox by default.

It's a very simple concept to understand too. If you're going to play a football game, you don't line up with 11 people against 1 person. No one would want to play that game. No one would want to watch that game. We wouldn't have a National Football League designed in a way where one guy just got the crap kicked out of him by eleven other guys. That would be stupid. So why are we doing that here?

Selective Multiplayer is a good thing, but only if we're using it to make the game more fair and balanced. To accomplish this, we really need to look for ways to make both modes of play fun but not selectively "better" than the other modes.

 

That's a double edged sword... I've been in a full party when a single blood-lusting player materializes out of thin air and PKs the entire group by him/herself. It takes a full party of eight players to push back against some of the more proficient solo players... it's pretty exciting actually to be in a party and get decimated by a solo player - it sucks dying, but it's exciting nonetheless. Even more exciting when the party finds its rhythm and starts holding their own against high-level PKers and gank squads.

All open PVP should be forced multiplayer in my opinion.

 

You can get that currently, and in the system I'm talking about.

Well that's how it works currently and that's how it would work as I'm describing it. The only difference is that some scenes would be bottle necks where only a few players could enter. The scenes wouldn't be resource farming areas either, they would be pvp areas specifically built for x vs. x encounters. For example, what if we made a 1 v 1 scene through the overland map that made it super easy to get through that part of the world and saved you a good 5 minutes of travel time? There are no resources there, no mobs to farm, but you might run into a person that can take your skull. The trick here is, 2 players enter, only 1 can leave (the winner).

It's things like this that would both ensure more fair options for players, and allow for the type of organic pvp that some people crave.

 

2v2s, 3v3s 4v4s etc etc that should just be an extension of the current duel mechanism. Open PvP is not about "fair" fights in the same way war isn't about "fairness".

 

Your ideas about PVP are well documented, but fortunately you do not speak for everyone. There are different kinds of pvp, some people enjoy pvp that doesn't center around griefing and being at a huge advantage over your opponents.

Just because you don't want fair fights, doesn't mean that it shouldn't happen.

 

The moment they MESS with the friends online mode, I am gone. It means that they lied to us in the beginning about the 4 different play modes. Which means they were never honest to begin with and will lie to us over and over again. If they renege on this they will renege on everything.
I heard they were going to greatly reduce the spawn rate on friend on line, I am gone if they do.

I bought into this game on their promises. I do not like PVP and will never play it. I do not like SOTA's multi-player because they cannot handle the amount of players that will be on line. Maybe they should take a hint from UO and create shards to handle the population. They want us to go multi yet they are sooo blind that they cannot see the lag, the constant waiting for mobs and resources due to others grabbing them. Worst of all the "A"holes we have to deal with. I got this game so I can play the way I want to. Not the way some crybaby wants me to or some developer who knows very little about balance to begin with telling me about balance. A piece of advice, There is no such thing as balance, neither in real life no in a game period.
Since I came aboard, I have seen very little in game improvement and a whole lot of useless eye candy.

Don't mess with friends on line .

 

Bah. Too much emotions here.
That's why we can't have nice things.
Because we start heated discussions about everything.
I am sure at the moment we could get a heated discussion on the color of a add on store house if one would be willing to push it enough.