Open letter to those playing so long -

I had pleasure of meeting Marjorja (s?) in game last week. Luca took me to a new place (the mines in Verdantis Foothills?). She joined us for some mining and whacking of Kobolds, Hardened skeletons, and some earth elementals at the bottom.

Anyway - I got to hear about the chicken room. With the recent (?) posts from people that have been playing the game for a while (ie more than a month lol) I wanted to share some thoughts.....

I really wish I had gotten 'in' on this when you did. Truly - it isn't just that I was playing Xcom and CivV ad nauseum for last year waiting for a new game, but how much I really love this game.

How many changes have you seen (and enjoyed) since you have been here? To be here for the evolution of a game...and help be a part of it? I say do not get discouraged now - not now when it feels 'close' to being as complete as can be....

Grinding, loot, balancing....heck these things plague every game right? We choose what we put up with. I would not criticize someone for not seeing what they especially want to see, but I do think some perspective or maybe even <gasp> self awareness is needed.... If you have been playing this game for say...2 years you paid what? $45 for the game unless you wanted a bundle/more? Seems a low price to pay to enjoy / do something for so long right? If you have 'grinded' for 3 years....how does it make sense to complain about it now?

"Just wait Khan you noob - you will see...oh yes..." sure - I get it...but my point is that you have had to see really great changes in your time here. Does that not give you hope the devs will continue?

My only real 'complaint' I have is the lack of information. Trying to find stuff out is pretty frustrating for new people - or just me to speak for me. Look up a leveling guide and you get something 2 years old. Loop up crafting and you get "sota craft" (which I just found out has the wrong stats for some bindings I wanted...grrrrr). Experience loss at death? how much? I didn't see any drop in my pool. Where is 'armor value'? Is Epic cloth better than augmented? Fortified? Regular? How much more defense does that shield give me? Try to find skill information and you get another post that's years old with skills not even in game. Look for crafting guides and you get videos of some 'old' setup that doesn't make sense. No auction house so I can and have literally spent my limited time playing running around looking for vendors. I am all about research and finding as much out so I can plan....and the lack of info frustrates me.

Lastly - the devs (and to so many out there that reach out to new people and help/welcome them) - thank you.... #shinethrushade

 

Information is so scarce or outdated (2-3 years ago), because that is when most of the backers were playing it. Now most are pretty much AFK. If you want to update the WIKI pages, please do!!!! They need a lot of updating from currently active players for sure.

 

The "definitive guide" to anything can be outdated by one "that is a good idea" during any of the q&a or forum discussions... so some people have stopped doing it till balance is completed.
Also, there was burn out/waiting before persistence followed by a flurry. Now I see (and feel myself) burn out/waiting for release.
I played before combat was implemented, but was never in the chicken room. And unfortunately I'm still waiting for combat to improve but I admit I keep raising the bar along the way. So it really has come a long way, but I feel it needs some improvements that just will not happen. Oh well, still enjoyable, but adds to my reason for waiting.
Crafting seems to be the last to tackle. Have you noticed any refining skills? No one but bzus knows what they will be.

Not sure where I was going with this. Anyway, enjoy now but realize it will be better at launch by far.

 

You'll find that criticism of SotA doesn't come from just one place. Find a mob of people who really dislike the game and they might look the same on the surface, but their reasons deeper down can differ quite a lot.

There are some, for example, who don't feel SotA has become the game that they originally backed. And to some degree, they're right. There are others who think the game should have FAR more story in it by this stage.

There are others who think the graphics and/or the animation looks poor. There are some who have never been down with the combat system, considering it inelegant (eyes off the screen), and hard for newbies to learn.

And so on and so forth. At the end of the day, the point is, the game has indeed disappointed a lot of people, across a lot of areas, and "launch day" isn't going to fix everything and bring them back. Not even a quarter of them.

I don't type this to be a downer, but just to emphasise that there's no one moment, or aspect of the game, that has caused player dissatisfaction. It's broad as hell, and stretches from original backers to new Steam gamers, equally.

 

He asked the changes we've seen. Hello @Xkhan. It was really nice to meet you. Now some here have lost their patience and you will see every type of comment. The best thing is to try to form your own thoughts too because the game will benefit from new player feedback. Not everyone likes every direction the game seems to be taking and even I have moments , but really the direction changes from release to release sometimes so we get to ride the roller coaster or as some do, complain about the ride .

There have been so many changes some small and other bigger changes.

A big changed that happened from player feedback was that the game was changed from skill based to use based.
Also we got new avatar models but not as much of the customization yet, but still more than at first when we had only hairstyle and only a few of them.
Another change was the overland map really got some changes after much, much debate here on the forums It looked a lot different and early days it was not nearly as gorgeous as it is now.
We finally got our overland encounters with a very few changes and updates to them but never got the coolness yet. I totally use them to gather resources in private, when I don't want to fight tons of creatures. Just kill once.
Most recent we got Sieges which are still under going updates.
Loot is a big one, well not big one just a big request. Loot has so much improved you cannot believe it but at times like on big fights it is like yikes, that was not worth it. Each release they will add to this to make it better.
Also we just got the ability to move a player, which is really huge. This will allow for boating to come in sooner after episode 1, but I am optimistic that as soon as they get the way to run boats through the Sota world without zoning in them, this will be a very huge day. So we have moving mine carts and log rides. That is a really big deal. It will make it so mounts can carry us as well. The log rides look great imo, not buggy. The work that I'm seeing done recently on things is top notch. I did yell a bit, not sure if I was heard, but it did seem because recent progress is amazingly well done. Doing things *half as*d* will make a very poor game. Afer all this time this game and everyone deserves better than that. Taking the easy route won't work. So expect more quality coming fast and furious from now on. imo

Ok well anyway a long answer to your question and don't let the doubters color your world. I hate when people do that before you can make your own comments and decisions and then you have this coloring in front of your eyes. In the long run we all miss out because we don't get reliable feedback to make a better game. We just get a bunch of attitude that helps nothing. So please feel free to ask me for help anytime. It would be my pleasure to help. I play the game regularly and for now we just make our own fun and keep giving this game the feedback it needs. *cheers* @Xkhan and happy journeys.

 

He also says, "I say do not get discouraged now - not now when it feels 'close' to being as complete as can be...." so my reply is in response to that, ie: background on WHY so many got discouraged, ie: there's no one reason.

 

I'm glad you're enjoying the game! I never saw the chicken room and I also wish I had started playing earlier - at least by Release 10 so I could have got all the Tour Guide hats. I actually had more fun playing the game in the early releases than I do now because each new release expanded the world, the changes were more drastic and exciting to see than they are now, and it was easier! I was able to go everywhere and do everything. Now the game has been calibrated to accommodate players who, unlike me, don't suck at combat, so my options in the game are limited. The compensation for me is the community of players and people on my friends list who help me to do things that I wouldn't be able to do on my own. So I want to take this opportunity to express my thanks to these great folks.