Everyone's thoughts on forcing PVE players into Open PVP areas along the main storyline.

I don't know that so many people have such dramatic reasons. My own reasons include a strong dislike for the implementation and how I want my own character to be played. I don't want to think of my character as someone who's had his head lopped off a dozen times and somehow survived it. Never mind the paradox of having several of the same body parts spread all over the world while still attached to your body. Lot of people like that or just don't care. Ok it's just a game.. but it's MY experience and that's not the kind of experience I want to have where the game itself basically tells me "what the hell who cares? it's just a game" It's hard enough trying to have a good RP experience when the game is fighting you along the way.

 

Adapt or die is a term i never liked.

You can also argue and try to convince people, at least as we are in an ongoing project.

The problem is, may its not a problem, but just a fact.

We have a game what wanted please 2 different, often but not necessarily always contrary, playstyles, attitudes to gaming or however we call it.
Minimum 2, if not more.

And this you can see in all those polls.
They all end more or less 50/50.

Maybe some want SotA to be niche of niche of niche...
Maybe others want it to be a great success.

I just read a german article where they write, that R.G. is heading for 100k players. Maybe at least 400k players could be possible.

I cannot imagine how they want to accomplish that.

Yesterday someone wrote me the Ultima Server he played on has more active players, than SotA ever had.

 

You misunderstand. There has been an incredible amount of content and bug fixing that occurs every month, especially for the number of developers on the team. The game is exponentially better than it was two months ago, so what I am saying is, we should continue to expect great things, but play the game for what it is today.

 

That's because only roughly 70 (and i am somewhat sure i could guess 69 of them) ppl care to vote in those poll at all.
We all seem to be pretty tired of polls that are either pointless, too late, badly done or unimportant at all because it's a poll about a designe decision that isn't going to change anyway.

So, why vote?

 

Not everybody knows that or is long enough involved and just spells their hopes or want to orientate.
It's at least more or less human nature to ask for, argue, searching for approval... Things like that.

I always vote, same for politics, doesnt change the system at all, but make a vote is not an option is someone right to express what he thinks.
Ok overestimation Alarm

I think we all should always answer and vote if we are interested in the topic.

 

It's not that i don't agree with you on that. I actually do agree with you.
Just pointing out what i heared from a couple of friends and their guild mates.

 

Any time you have to force something, it demonstrates, at a minimum, something does not work as originally designed. But quite often it demonstrates something not being able to survive or continue based on its own merits.

Translation- If you have to force PVP for whatever reason, then your PVP system is broken and you should not force people into a broken system to mitigate your dissatisfaction with said broken system

 

Yea, I'm happy with these discussions where different types of players get to give their input and perspectives....

But the bottom line is a game is always going to be limited by its gameplay, and modifying the gameplay to include the preferences of some people will always end up excluding the preferences of other people. So for instance, open world PvP is its own type of gameplay which opens a lot of avenues of fun that can't exist in a consensual PvP type game, and by making SotA consensual PvP, they're excluding the playstyle of people who have fun playing open world PvP. That's just the fact of it.

Designing a game requires making choices, and that's why there are different types of games. In this game, the devs have had to make some choices and deal with certain issues. How to balance open PvP versus consent. How to balance player expression versus immersion. Etc. And with every choice they make, they're including some players, and excluding others, many of whom are going to leave and go to other games to find what they find fun because they don't think they can find it in SotA --- and many have left already, or stopped playing, because of these choices.

So, since they can't accommodate every 'playstyle', the devs ultimately come down to a more basic choice -- what type of game they want this to be.

For me and a lot of other players, when we imagined what type of game SotA would be we thought a classic RPG, just like the Ultimas. To me, UO failed in some regard in that with PKing it felt that role-play was often not involved in PvP -- they just liked preying on players who didn't want to PvP for the sport of it. However, I thought the basic idea was right in allowing players to make choices on who they were going to be -- good or evil -- and to let them impact the world with their choices. The bottom line for me in SotA, is that if this is a classic RPG, in that sense, PvP has to matter and be tied into the world somehow.

There are lots of ways that could be done, and these PvP story routes isn't necessarily the best one, but my guess is the people who would complain about one would complain about anyone of them. And I'm not sure I get where people are coming from when they ask for a relatively painless non-PvP route through the story, or else they're forced PvP, because this didn't exist in all the Ultima games. Going through the Underworld in U5 was not always painless.

 

Although we have obviously some different opinion on several things, i sure know we too have same opinions on other things. I take a lot you posted the last Month serious and with respect.
I know you do either....
.....
.....
"more or less"

Well, i am not always sure if i see the whole or can debate about things beyond my own experience.
And some people sure have more knowledge about the game and in total.

I am only arguing from what I know and what i think.

Sure these are my personal wishes, feelings and such. But what else i can contribute to the devs?

I still hope for the one or another significant change.

If R.G. believes this will be a successfull release, no matter if we talk about Story Release or Game Release he is maybe shortsigbted.

The game offers a lot, but his Vision is hard to communicate and barely transferable to most players of this or that side.

When he wrote:
"Richard Garriott:

XoriniteWisp, First, thanks for the years of support! Second, yes, I do believe we are doing right, by the solo player base. It has been SLOW in coming, and we warned offline players that it would be the last phase of development, but we are finally getting more love on solo/offline play these days. Still, Shroud of the Avatar is a NEW TYPE of game. Its neither purely a Solo Player game, nor purely an MMO type game. On the plus side, this means there are many modes to play in. On the minus side, there are features that are effected by the "blending". So "purists" may always find issues."

Klingt wie: ja wir machen was neues. Nix richtig aber dafür alles zusammen und in einem

It sounds like, yes we do both, but nothing right. That's the New thing about it, but we do it both.

I just cant imagine if there are enough people to accept that the game want to cater to "both" playstyles, but cannot do it well in any of them.

 

When I play a game I want to "Do" something.

That includes PvP.

If someone does not want PvP, ever, it's probably because they have found what they like to do. Then every aspect of PvP is about needing to stop what they are wanting to do to deal with PvP. Once PvP has ended then they can continue with what they want to do.

I enjoy PvP but I am not looking for FPS, battleground/arena, dueling, type PvP. The last thing I want from SotA is attacking for no reason. Open PvP or even sandbox PvP, not interested, actions have consequences which land you in PvP, interested.

No story should flag anyone PvP but being able to walk a path that results in PvP should happen.

I can't imagine many of us want a full blown sandbox with open PvP. Nothing else, just pure #fullStabbyFace on anything that moves. But our willingness to accept that till there is something better can hold us till then.

Stabby face PvP is up front imagery and a game stopper for anyone that has something better to "Do"

Until PvP is proven to be fun and engaging.

 

This. (among other concerns)

My playtime is mine, and I will not cede the control of that time to a random third party.

 

The business model vs gaming styles. Hard to point out the difference some times.

 

Agree 100% .... I have no intention to PVP in this game... hate it. If they force me too, then I am gone.... Because I don't want tp PVP period.... EVER ....

They said no forced PVP, that is why I invested in this game, WELL they lied, since if I want to finish the quest line , I have to go thru a PVP zone .... that is forced PVp to me ...

 

So much this. I have no interest in being a homicidal maniac or a serial killer just for PvP. Give it meaningful context and it would make many people give PvP a second look.

 

So... why do folks keep insisting this is true? Just read through the posts, there are other non-pvp paths to finish the story lines... Why must this misinformation keep getting spouted?

 

apparently outrage is more fun.

 

It's deeper than that... people hold so much grudge over those days that they will only rest when "those evil pkers" will suffer as much as them, even if thats impossible because most of it is self-imposed.

As I said, this is very potent energy buildup that portalarium IS NOT using at their advantage.

When you all realize the collateral damage you will probably all cry. Can't say I haven't warned "you"...

 

I think the reason is because it isn't very clear. It doesn't tell you anything about an alternate path in game, so it can be very confusing. Folks have to read the forums in order to figure it out. I messaged @DarkStarr about this and I hope in an upcoming release it will update your journal with more information.

 

@Numa; I agree with you about PVP with meaningful content. Here is what I hope happens in the endgame either at launch or at latest EP 2. 4 Big Castles with unlimited resources worth fighting for, one in each quadrant of the Novian Map. Hopefully if you evict the initial NPC troops there and hold it for 24 hours then bonus resources and xp (50k) for party/guild that controls it. Hell why not place these castles near the coast so they can be fired upon and invaded from the sea. This would stir up political alliances/guild wars etc. May seem a bit far fetched but we need an end game worthy of all the grinding xp. R/Boris/El Pirata

 

Ship bombardment of (PVP) castles - yes please