Do you care about the single player storyline in SotA or can you live without

To make it a bit clearer: I am not talking about A storyline (most MMOs have some kind of storyline) but about a single player experience that hearkens back to Ultima IV-IX.

Please vote and if you have input please elaborate. I and others who care very much about it would like to know how many here even care.

Thank you!

 

I'm here for the story! But l know - every thread about the single player offline aspect or the story will be closed sooner or later. So I feel like a foreign body here. Like some others I could create some alternate accounts to give my voice more weight. But so what - I'm way too tired and too disappointed and I have lost all my hope.

I will write a review about SotA on my homepage and I will measure the game using the Kickstarter promises. But rest assured, this will happen not until the game is released, because I still want to be fair after all.

So goodbye Sota - we will meet again after release.

 

I’m here for it all. Single player story and online play.

More importantly, I am here for that persistent world story. The monthly updates that keep feeding us content beyond the story that comes with each episode.

The dynamic content if that’s what they call it

 

We'll see

 

Gotta be creative to get those tears this late into the game.

 

I bought the game only for the single player mode XD
I hate MMO!
The only MMO I loved was EQ2...now with Daybreak...
This game is my EQ2 offline,a lot of books to read,nice crafting and a huge world to explore!

 

I'm here for both. I'd be very disappointed if I didn't get a good storyline.

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For a niche game like this to keep players coming back then it needs flavor.
Flavor is what creates meaning to all those otherwise dead pixels. It is why easily recognizable IP are so valuable.

As such we humans are narrative creatures, we often create ideas of story and purpose where there is none.

Which means that for games like this creating a narrative and story are cheap ways of adding meaning and purpose which keeps the players invested in staying.

For me the Ultimas of old had plenty of that essential meaning and purpose especially through the narrative.
It would be silly for a smaller title like this not to grasp such opportunity.

 

Your poll is a bit bi-polar and forced me to choose the second option. But I care about the story. I just don't want it to be too Ultima ;-)

 

I'm also here for the story.

 

The implementation so far requires me to shut off any thoughts of a story to enjoy it at all. I still want to kill most of the NPCs because talking with them makes me want to kill and torture them (and my intention was to be a hero) but one more "I don't know what you mean" when I ask them about the super important thing that they asked me to help with right away, I am going to burn down their town. I forbade my husband to play yet. He says that I seem to be having fun. I asked him if he's made friends with <insert MGT/Beren League member name>? No? I tell him that it might be alright as long as he doesn't try to play the story.
Until they fix that part of the game I'll be exploring zones and trying things in combat. Otherwise this is SecondLife with swords. It's not even that good because you can't fly.
I'd like to play a story but I I don't think that will happen by what they consider Launch.

 

I bought this game for the storyline that harkens back to Ultima. I couldn't care less about MMO aspects unless they are meaningful. I'm already subbed to two MMOs that I have no intention of leaving for anything lese and I'm especially uninterested in ones behind cash shop and paywalls...

 

I'm thinking of ways that a good single-player storyline will hurt the MMO part of the game - oh wait, there's none so bring it on

 

See I am here for both and I do enjoy the game currently in multiplayer BUT I wish the devs would put more effort into the game than they put into all these in game items. I feel that the team effort on mechanics compared to items being put in is far behind. If it is due to the amount it artists they have that need to be kept busy maybe it is time to drop one and get a coder instead. I think that more polished mechanics and features get people loging in would be much more important. I was kind of hoping that this would we the eve online for fantasy games but it is just so clunky. I am still hoping for the best but my gut tells me that there won’t be much changed till release that would encourage new players.

 

I read an article of a Curse you can fall in as Developers depending on ongoing Funding through Backers or Early Access.
If you run low on Funding Money you will need to find ways to secure that you can pay your developers ongoing so you can finish. They tell of like 3 different options - and all of them are currently being approached from Portalarium
1. Creating more "Content" that delivers money - Problem: Creating content like new Add On Store Items to be purchased or Content to use for Telethons and rewards also cost "Work" time that is not used to develop the Game. A Telethon Day means also resources that need to run the Telethon, prepare it, have meetings of rewards and then resources providing the rewards to the winners and so on.
2. If you run on Steam you can also try to get more Money in if Steam moves you to the top Sales Side.
Mainly this is done with a special Sales price or Event. Often i read long waiting times to get this opportunity from Steam.
We currently had this happen with Sota. We had a 50% price lower price special days. So this option is being used by Portalarium.
3. You try to get Publishers to jump on the horse. One curse is - If you Product has a bad Review Standing it may end up being hard to get Publishers who you can make good deals with to secure alot of new funding. You may have to compromise with not so great Deals and not so well known Publishers.

So this is what they call the Pre Development Spiral of Hell - You use your resources ( man power) more and more to create money that should be one day used for development- but instead the money you gained is used more and more in a % for less Development and more "focusing on how to keep getting the next money in" to avoid running dry.

It all depends currently alot on the current existing Fans who already love the Game on how much the are willing to spend.

I think it is that simple. More Money - More Developers - MMO + Awesome Solo Story.


Hopefully the deals they made, the Seedinvest and all those other actions they are on provide the "money Honey" to give them the focus more on Development and less on "where is the next Money Pot".

For me it is not them ignoring any Feedback about Solo Games. It is the Money that is not enough currently to be able to have enough Resources to react on the Feedback.

 

Of course I've been telling you this in the other threads before, but sure, I'll cast my vote. And here is my little story.

I'm 41 years old, today. There are a few select books, movies, TV series, and games that I hold very dear. I'm a Disney nut, and The Lion King is my favourite movie. Which is probably something that'll weird out a lot of people. But hey. You like your Rocky Horror Picture Show, or your Star Wars, and I hold The Lion King above all else. That doesn't mean that I don't love the Rocky Horror Picture Show or Star Wars. Just not quite as much. I adore the Harry Potter books, and I love the older, unfinished TV Series 'The Tripods'.

Obviously, my favourite games include a whole lot of Ultima. And I've been starved for more. I've been following Richard Garriott in first the gaming news, into space, around the planet several times, and back again. Would give so much to be able to shake that mans hands, nod my head and say a brief Thank You in appreciation for the stories/games he gave to me and you. When he made that Kickstarter, he made that promise. After Tabula Rasa, I was being carefully optimistic. More optimistic than careful though, so I donated a good sum of money to the project. The game of my dreams. Tearing up just thinking about it. The spiritual successor to Ultima. In all but in name. It would even touch on what happened, in less than obvious ways, to Britannia. Other people start weeping with joy about every bit of Half-Life 3 related news, and a month ago, they finally got closure. As for Ultima, -- we haven't had closure. Not really. This is the promise for me. Some kind of continuation and/or closure. Single player story CRPG. Ultima. The promise. Target lock. Shut up and take my money. I love you, Richard Garriott. Thank you for just doing what you do!

 

@Myrcello i agree the problem is they would need to get more members for more funding not just by buying the game but through the ingame store items. I just had some site pop up a day or 2 ago and it offered to buy a key for less than 5$ with that they could almost go free to play. What bothers me is that so much time is spend talking about the premium items instead of important stuff related to gameplay. Yes new mines and areas are nice but until now the basic gameplay still does not feel right animations are still less than optimal and those are things a new player looks at. Everyone I have brought to the game quits because it is „too clunky“. I have a friend that I play eve with and he only plays because he enjoys the graphics sounds etc he does not care for anything but some hours flying around. We tried Sota and he knew after 10 minutes that the interface and animations will keep him from playing. And he loves fantasy and is someone that could run around mmorpgs to just explore he does not need leveling systems or crafting he just likes new worlds. And with hidden walls switches etc I thought this game was ideal but as stated no chance.

 

Nearly all the new things that get implemented aren't all that entertaining at this moment for me, so the quests are something i really look forward to. Although i doubt it will be as cool as i hoped it would be when the kickstarter project started.

 

Happy birthday!

 

Harsh But I know what you mean.

 

I bought the game for the single player offline experience. Now after years of playing solo online, I am more and more thinking that the offline mode will be a disappointment. All the skill development, the home building, vendoring, cash gathering, high tier fighting and etc. might have ruined any offline excitement. I hope not. I cannot envision the offline mode. If it turned out to be something like Witcher I guess it will be OK. Solo online and Solo offline would have to be so different at this point, I really cannot envision a happy outcome.