Can we have a Project Update that is not trying to sell me something."

Agree with you for the most part here. I was making the point that indeed there is MAJOR content present in this game which is accessible only at certain paygates. The extent this was clear to backers (in terms of how big of a feature housing would be) I think is a debatable point.

 

I don't think it is major content when compared to the rest of the game. I am at Knight level- I get a handful of baubles, a knight style house and village plot, so I get to play interior decorator sooner than someone that did not pledge to housing levels. One does not need to pay real money to eventually own any of the homes - including pledge reward homes, because they will eventually go up for sale 2nd hand, and can be acquired by a dedicated player keeping on the lookout. Yes, it will take non-backers time in game to earn gold to purchase either from NPCs or other players.

Shroud is going to be a vast interactive world, with detailed skill trees and top-notch story driven gameplay. Housing is like a minigame within the world. Players enjoy decorating. They will make decorating an attraction in SotA for that reason. People also enjoy rares (look at UO), and for that reason, limited styles are attractive. But the rest of the core game is not suffering because housing has become something players (and the team) are excited about. Non-homeowners will have access to storage, gardening, crafting stations, bazaars/vendors. Non-homeowners can also be friended to other players' houses.

People like convenience and they like vanity (and some just want to support the game) and so there are people that will put up $ for add-ons. That $ means the rest of the community gets to enjoy content that wouldn't otherwise exist, and can acquire similar things in-game or purchase the unique ones second hand when they are able to afford it. I think its a win-win.

 

Nice way to kill the spirit of a game. Hey, my fishing pole doesnt break down cause I spent 10$ bucks on it, and the other guy has to buy more fishing poles cause he didnt.

It's good to have stuff that can be bought with irl money but only as long as it doesnt affect the acutal gameplay, in my opinion...please, no stuff like swords with more damage and pets with more HP or that dont need to be fed for irl cash.
Thats just dull.

 

For one thing, from the very beginning, Garriott has stated that nothing is set in concrete and anything can change as development progresses, so it can't be false advertising, so quit being foolish. It's unbecoming.

 

Truth!
At this point in time, there is no game.
Also, nobody has to buy anything in the add-on store. Why are people so up-in-arms about optional pixels??! Are you all habitual shopaholics?! SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP!
The day Portalarium starts selling items that impact the game detrimentally for any given category of player (providing there is a game), that is the day to take them to task! Until then, patience, discipline!

 

Money, even more than PvP, will always stir up issues - not surprised some people react so strongly about it.

It is the root of all evil, so just give it to me and your life will be much, much better.

 

Some people are hard-wired to demand as much as they can get for as little cost as possible, preferably free.
They feel if they can browbeat Portalarium into giving them more for their money, they've won.

Best of luck to them. That's way more stress than I want in my life.

 

Ok so we all know false advertising is a lawsuit, no company wants to bear those consequences, it shuts them down forever, hence they go from being rich to poor (in a corporate setting) for a company that is not backed by EA, Origin, Blizzard (excellent CO. by the way), it costs money 2 million is a good chunk but still less than most great video games have, so as an independent company, they need to keep making more money, a big ass house, a boat or anything else you bought through this company, as long as it doesnt effect my game play as an individual, then i dont care, so maby you can hold more stuff in your house (expected), so what if your fishing pole is immortal ,(expected) you wouldnt sell something outside of game that has a life span on it (thats just dumb) and bad business, as long as your stuff doesnt effect my stuff, so be it sell away Add on Store, its a good way to keep a minute amount of money constantly flowing for a company that really needs it to build what they need to be a great game, with the system they are proposing you can have many talents (like repairing or making a fishing pole *example) big deal so you gain experience in crafting! isnt that what you wanted as a crafter anyhow? Maby at one point in game you can finally make indestructable fishing poles! So as lopng as what they sell doesnt effect my game play i personally dont care.

 

@blaquerogue: That is an impressive first sentence! I'm almost surprised that you used spacing between words; however, I am surprised you choose to use the word "minute" instead of "small" and you took the time to highlight it in a different colour! Why is that?

PS: Sorry, don't mean to make you feel self-conscious, it was just an inevitable observation

 

ok first off i dont use spell check and when im hyped up about something, i type alot faster than i should, there will be alot of typos, if i post anything in these forms, its because im very into it, Minute = small and i was just making a point that it isnt a huge amount of money to spend, and even less than 1% of what this team needs to accomplish anything as far as finances are concerned with this game. (not asking to much) and it doesnt effect my game personally.

PS; I fixed that first sentence especially for you thank you! I can take constructive critiscism If i told you that when i went to college, because my scores were so high in english and writing and everything involved in between, i had a chance to opt out of those classes, and was hounded daily to become an English Teacher (which i had no desire to do), you wouldnt believe me, but it also leaves an open job for future Editors, so im helping the economy with my mispellings, sentence run ons etc... Thank you for telling me to slow down and concentrate!

 

Where ever you find people there will be stress, if you don't want any, become a hermit, lol
What if find most interesting is that brand of math some people will use. Some form of calculs, example 1 + 1 = 2 (most commen) right ?
Fact + Fact = conclusion (again, very simple). But theeen they will take it little further, like this. Example : Opinion (of the fact) plus another opinion = the truth.
The fact is, it just equales, at best, a grand assumption. Example: " a little bit of randomness" is NOT the same as maximum randomness and total chaos.

Note: "My advice to any internet lawyer, go to law school and pass the BAR"

 

I would be a Hermit if they let me have a house deep in the woods away from cities and villages! I wish they would make it possible to have one there! Oh well.

 

Mee too! Bro, all I need is a Tent and some stools.

Edit: Oh! AND a Wingman, sturdy stool and cool stories will be provided.

 

He said "stools". *Beavis and Butthead snickers*

 

It's cool!
I didn't mean to sound judgemental or critical - it was an observation. If you hadn't stopped to highlight "minute", I wouldn't have commented. I apologise for making you feel defensive, it really isn't my intent. Keep on feeling hyped and posting spontaneously, results are always better that way; and don't do anything, or change anything, for me or anyone else. These forums are for everybody to be themselves*.


*as long as they are respectful to others at the same time.

 

I laughed sooooo freakin hard when I heard about the Fishingpole in the OP....I ran to check the store and sure enough it was there, laughing with tears streaming down my cheeks I purchased it for the shear hilarity of the item hehehehe thanks OP for the Laugh, and Portalarium for the funniest epic piece of gear ever.

 

I really do need to slow down, no offense was taken! To somone that couldnt take constructive cristicism it wouldve sounded judgemental and critical, but i m good with it

 

Ill be your wingman! somones got to help keep watch of the campsite, for Pkrs or monsters wandering in! well take point for 6hr shifts each, that should get us through the night! and when more people join us we can break up those hours!

 

we need to save a seat for MagiK, some kind of magic user(im guessing) would be beneficial to the campsite! May be they will give us an option to having a campsite instead of a house, if more people join the cause!

 

The funny thing is that over at SC, it's at 26M and CIG (Cloud Imperium Games) is still fund raising. We still have one more upcoming big ship sale on Nov 25. There are ships , like the SOTA lots, that are expensive and cost $1k +. Just like here, there are heated debates about pay2win & micropayments.

But when push comes to shove, the SC community just wants to see the game well funded even before the alpha dogfight module comes out. We have our indestructible fish rods too - it's called LTI (Life Time insurance) for ship hulls and standard equipment that come with the ship. Lose the ship in battle and it's back in your garage (minus your upgrades & cargo) after some time. There have been (and still are) many angry arguments about it because, originally, this was supposed to be for early backers and should have ended last Nov 2012. It's been extended twice , many early backers are unhappy about that, but it's finally going to end this Nov 26 - despite clamors from new backers to have it extended indefinitely.

Now LTI is a perk, you can still buy ship insurance in game and renew it indefinitely but it has attained the stature (just like SOTA's fishing rod) of a rare golden trophy in people's minds. It has come to symbolize the bonuses & extras early backers have gained since the start of fund raising, and we have our own vocal minority too that believes that all backers should be equal no matter what.

At 2.6M SOTA , to my eyes, could use quite a bit more funding and there are only 2 ways you can do it. Get investors, who will inevitably want more of a say in how the game is developed or setup a store (SC's is called Voyager Direct) and walk the fine balance between funding the game and pay2win.

As for me, I would love that cross promotion crossbow exist in two of my favorite game genre's - just having one would be too sad a reminder of the one that didn't make it.