SeedInvest Campaign - Discussions with Richard Garriott / Lord British

Man, Seedinvest don't make it easy. To signup they need your address, which makes sense. Problem is that I live in New Jersey, United States, and they only had 10 cities for me to choose from for the entire state of New Jersey. I had to contact them directly to add my city.

 

I was actually wondering about this myself. I have spoken with others who also might be interested. They have suggested 1k might be a bit low for them but 10k was pushing it.

 

Dang! I live in the middle of Thailand and they got my city right ... Must be a Jersey thing ~Time Lord~

 

Did someone lit up the golden spoon signal in the sky...?


Uhm, no not that one. Was it uhm.



Doesn't matter - quickly into the spoonmobile:

Just need to throw out the pretentious git already in it.


OK lets start with the last thing.

Nope, I'm sorry, I'm not Spoony and no relations. I'm even on the wrong side of the globe from him... Nor am I any of all those other Spoon Spooner or Spoonky from UO. Just another cutlery in the drawer I'm afraid.

However I'm good at using mine to dig with like Fionwyn says.


Yes the Single Player Offline will be finished and supported. There has been no mention nor announcement that would lead us to believe otherwise. Instead we get repeated evidence to their continued support. For instance there are SPO specific stuff mentioned in all the Quarterly goals. Here is the latest one:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/q2-2017-schedule-update.84613/
Now why it isn't a big point in the SeedInvest thingie is because it is not a big potential revenue generator the way the other parts are. It is more of a bread and butter thing.

However with that said I think that unfortunately @Sir Cabirus is quite right that thus it isn't the main focus, which is a bit sad. So if one was expecting something which would surpass Ultima VII in story and interactivity then that seems to be a bit lacking. But there are several of the devs who are quite passionate about the Single Player Offline bits. But they are just too small a team. We can go through the list and we'll note that it isn't all there:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f.../single-player-offline-unique-features.21739/
For instance the companions are there and will follow you and add flair etc but they are a bit 'flat' in their responses and interaction for those of us who still remembers the companions of old.

So this means that Yes they are fully committed to a Single Player Offline narrative and that they see this as crucial and integral to the game, but it will most likely not live up the full grand hopes and expectations of the Single Player Offline players of our community.


With that said though I'd just like to mention that those involved in the translation of the game has been having "know-it-all" giggles and smiles for a while since there is very much more to the story than is currently in the game. They have been saving up on some of the twists and turns etc.
So a lot of those who has tested Single Player Offline in the past has been very much "is this it?" where the answer would be - no there is more coming. But unlike the worldbuilding where we can see the "under construction" signs some of those are lacking when it comes to the "under construction" parts of the story.

Also note that we recently got a new hire on the dev team which is another 100% story/npc/quest writer to wramp up the production on those things.
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...ner-is-from-another-mmorpg.87611/#post-798525
He was also present and made some mentions of what he has done in the weeks he has been here during the "story hour" of the telethon last week.


Then as a final note. In one of the last hangouts we got a question regarding Single Player Offline mode support for the upcoming Episdodes 2-5 and both Richard and Starr said that there would be continued support although problably not backwards compatibililty so once you progress beyond specific story point some old stuff will close, which just means one should do all the side quests before progressing to next episode stuff.
Which is some mayor good news for Single Player Offline, if they will continue to support it through the episodes then just like with everything else new features and stuff will be added as we move along - and lots of the old pledges included the new episodes.

Well, better stop here before I bore everyone to sleep.

Happy hunting

Spoon

 

Hello,

I am also a real SoTA fan as well as already for U5-9 and UW1/2 and have supported the game so far with Level Baron 3 as well as numerous AddOns.

The press release today surprised me a lot. The idea for the integration of future sponsors I find fundamentally good. But just at the time, so shortly before release I had not expected. The reaction of the press is accordingly negative. This is in my opinion, in the first step, no good marketing to improve the situation. I am also of the opinion that a project (SoTA) is first structured and successfully brought to an end before ideas, resources and certainly money are invested in other games. With a successful SoTA you can better recommend than with an unfinished failure.

We now have 2017 and are in early access at $ 11,623,615.

Perhaps you are concentrating on your strengths and thus on the completion of the game, as it was planned and how it should be in the Ultima tradition. SoTA is unique in its kind and atmosphere, just Ultima. There is only the one original: Lord British !!! Use this advantage.

I remain on the ball, so I am so faithful to SoTA, Lord British, his team and the community! Perhaps you can prove a happier hand in the following campaign to get the desired press and marketing support.

If my contribution is too negative: I am a passionate SoTA backer and I am suffering and am happy with heart blood and passion ...

Sorry for the bad English.

Best regards
Baron
Jupiter Eight
Elad`s Lighthouse
Twin Spire Manor

 

After giving it some thought: I'm in.

I feel very good about investing in the people of Portalarium. They're good talented people, and they've shown me that they intend to make a great game. I have already played over 2500 hours and spent quite a bit of money. It's been worth it to me because I've enjoyed it so much, and I'm looking forward to the future (each month it gets better!). By supporting this game and this company I'm supporting the hope of continued enjoyment for years to come.

Plus, I'm guessing that gold cloak and armor are going to be worth something in the open market so I might make some of my money back in the short term.


Disclaimer: I'm not a financial adviser. Do not use my opinions or statements to make financial decisions. Consult with a professional.

 

Spoiler

Well, that was long! xD
Thanks for answering! Good to know!
And sorry for flooding around!
Will wait for best from SPO! *cheers!*

And yeah, you make my day with "Golden Spoon in the sky!" xD

 

Well I have read 8 pages of this seedinvest thread and unfortunately I do not have the financial resources to invest in it. Seems those that have the means will be on board with it for the most part. I am one of those that is making the best out of his $40.00 adventurer pledge and I am sure there are plenty others just like me and those who tested the game last month on a trial basis. I do have a suggestion for Lord British and Darkstarr from my point of view. Besides the seedinvest how about a 25% reduction on all add-ons for July and August to generate more income. It may not be as sizeable as the seedinvest yet I feel every dollar counts towards the Marketing and Publishing goal. R/Boris/El Pirata

 

Don't sell yourself short sir...
Thank you for being here, and your opinion is just as valued as the "whales" that are cresting the waters behind this post and taking a peek...

Give it up @Blake Blackstone...
I know your here...
Get your shovel... Dig up your mason jars in the back yard... The time has come...
Fire the Weeping Seven and the Consortium up, and lets finish this...

@Boris Mondragon, you keep those ideas coming... The only bad ideas are the silent ones...

 

I beg your pardon but somehow I feel like in a Fellowship meeting

 

@Duke Ezekiel Cooper - don't use that word whales! Other than that, carry on.

 

I been called a whale for so long in a derogatory and despicable manner, that I believe I have the right to say it.

 

https://www.seedinvest.com/portalarium/series.b
~You will Hear From Us~

*leaves the blood stained note behind*

ROFL ~Nystal~

 

it is, they kinda all run together

 

I always thought there was one city per toll road exit...

 

Well I think it's fine if Portalarium is planning for the future of Portalarium in this. One thing that I do not like to hear is about the 'other' games they will make to support the company. Look what World of Warcraft did for Blizzard. Did they need a zillion games to amass billions of dollars, no they had World of Warcraft? We could have been that for Portalarium and we still could be a huge amount of revenue to the company if only we can step forward a bit more. If after 4 years this project becomes the game that couldn't quite make a profit and I do not know this will be the case by any means, but it does not have to go that way, but imagine if. I will keep fighting for this game to be the game that 'makes' Portalarium a respected gaming name.

 

Agreed!

SOTA needs to be finished. To push work on other games doesn't feel right. And they still have episodes 2-5 to complete.

I've been seeing this happening with InXile and Bards Tale 4. it's been 'suggested' that project could turn into the companies 'budget' project. There have been other issues come up. Problems with the BT 1-3 remastering / conversion (it was one of their kickstarter promises). And now their main landing page is a picture rather than a web site. I had to strip off the bards tale 4 part of the url to get into their forums and find out what's going on.

Overall, that project has me concerned. But then again I didn't get too deep into it. If I loose then I loose. Live and learn. But once I move on, I'm not looking back

I don't make the same mistake twice, unless it was fun the first time that is ;-)

 

Wow, now that is really sketchy!!! I even search Bards Tale 4 and nothing came up going back to Feb for news.

To bad, I was going to play it since 1-3 indoctrinated me into gaming back on my C64.

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv/updates

The 1-3 conversion is now available, and they have posted updates on kickstarter multiple times this year, both on the updates section as well as the comments section. They have even posted a combat video with commentary on the may 1st update (not the most recent one)