Feeback from a (former) loyal customer

I was as loyal a customer and LB fan as they come. I even spend money to go to the SotA release party, but the last few months opened my eyes. That time period made me think: "Were the people who were called trolls here right after all?". Why? Here is why:

I followed the project since the very beginning, before the Kickstarter. Richard Garriott talked about how he will create a game that will be like Ultima IV-VII in terms of immersive storyline but with a twist: you will also be able to play with friends in that fantastic sandbox world. I love the single player Ultimas and played UO for a few years too. But I am one of the many who pledged because of the promise of a Ultima VII like experience. I can not explain just how excited I was, Lord British is creating a new Ultima, WOW!

I like MMO's but I am tired of them, it's just not what I am here for. And yes I and others have every right not to be here for an MMO but for an immersive single player experience. After all it was promised over and over again. Those promises made me spend money on this project.

Over the years of development multiplayer had priority. I never really complained but gave some feedback along the way. I understood that it is most likely just better to build the most important multiplayer features first to get a stable base running, something they can build on. No problem here. You promised you will get it done before you release the game and I believed you, the industry veterans. I believed you so much that even though you did not fulfill the promise that was the reason for me giving you money for years I became an Ambassador and did what I could to get people into the game and to defend the development.

But oh my, here we are. It was not delivered but not only that, no, you are collecting money for episode 2 without having fulfilled the promises for Episode 1. What is this? How does that strengthen the trust of your customers. The ones that gave you money for something you don't seem to intent to deliver. First Ep2 strechgoal: mounts. How about a system that makes it possible to create visible consequences of player actions in the world? Something essential to be able to deliver that Ultima IV - VII promise.

Oh, don't get me wrong I absolutely understand that the MMO part and the micro transactions that come with it are important for your continuous income. But is alienating and basically ignoring the huge fanbase that gave you money for that other (at least) 50% of the SotA 2013 promise really that clever? Isn't it a bit short sighted maybe? Over the years you even closed almost every thread about offline single player (also see Darkmoon threads).

Would that huge Ultima fanbase give you money for another project?

I was sure that the last Telethon would be the time to finally address this huge topic / issue. But nothing., business as usual.

Are you addressing this topic? No, but you are banning the ones who insist on getting what they were promised.

Hey if you are happy with how things are going then keep ignoring all of us and concentrate on the fanbase you have, like you do now. But if you want at least a chance of getting some of those people back, then give us more than "we will rework the quest system".

What are the plans for the "story-driven solo player experience that hearkens back to somewhere between Ultimas IV and Ultima VII" when will its development become priority nbr. 1?

If you don't plan to fulfill that promise then please just let us know. I'll cut my losses and go.

A sincerely disappointed and baffled customer.

 

I feel for you.

 

Not to be a cheerleader, but I've gotten the sense from the episode 2 talk that a big part of the story direction of ep2 is going to be based on what the players accomplish. I would always giggle during telethons when LB would talk about what a deep immersive story the game has, when it very clearly doesn't. But I've come to realize, he's referring to the entire story, not what we've seen so far. In U7 terms, we've just gotten out of Trinsic. Now, to be fair, what we've seen... doesn't fill me with confidence about what is to come. But I think I'm going to give it until at least ep2 to make my final judgement as to whether or not to continue. I do enjoy many of the other aspects of the game, including a lot of things that I never thought I would care much for.

 

I share your frustration on the development the game took with regards to Single Player / Offline-Gameplay, story-driven experience, interaction etc. Like you, I brought the points up in discussions for a long time - while I understood the rationale for Portalarium prioritizing online play. The last "drop" was Starr Long explaining in a recent Telethon that the quest & journal system was in no good state. I - and many others - knew this and had brought this up for a long time, just to be ridiculed or calmed with promises of story polish and improvements.

Now, with journal and quest engine rework pushed out from "past launch" to "Episode 2" I seriously doubt this game will ever develop into a story-driven solo player experience worthy of U4-U7. Phasing hasn't been discussed for many many releases and even the sparklies and NPC exchanges - which were supposed to test "phasing" - never really worked.

Cutting losses is probably the smart and only thing.

Portalarium concentrating on MMO and selling more shinies to generate a basic cashflow might be the only remaining way to keep this game afloat. If we're lucky we might even see some crumbs falling down the MMO table and improving the CRPG aspect.

 

And a certain avatAv will be by to dismiss your feedback in 3... 2..
<user banned>

 

Great post, I‘m with you. Nothing more to say because I lost all hope and gave up. Let’s face it, we single player Ultima fans lost the battle.

 

I hate to say it but this is never going to be a great single player game. It has:

• An awesome housing system
• A great character development system
• An interesting combat/deck system
• A complex crafting system
• The makings of a player driven economy
• It is starting to have an inkling of interesting PvP
  
• and... a lackluster quest system (I'll be glad if/when they get the quest engine/journal to the point that quest information updates correctly and you can search/organize/filter quests.)

It's a fun MMO that has a passable story line that can be played in single player off line mode.

 

My thoughts exactly, we've only seen 1/5th of the story.. we're barely out of the prologue

-Met

Edit: If ya think about it, we only have access to 1/5th of the world too..

 

im really bothered aswell by this approach of, we have to move on to new content, while existing content is broken. i couldnt believe it, when i read that mounts are even a topic. thats a whole system in itself and brings a whole lot of issues to the table. i myself wouldnt need mounts in sota so im biased, but if it comes to making this game recommendable to friends, this is literally the last topic that comes to my mind.

i also see your point about single player, and while i dont care about it myself, i see why people are sour because its not the game they anticipated, when giving their money.
i think what they (port) had in mind changed over time, including some unhealthy influence of "investors". the pledge reward above a certain level, beeing, to have possible influence on the design of the game, imo was a big mistake. once people see themself as investors rather than players, their thinking changes... and from my pov not for the better (*elegantly leaving room for different perceptions*). #designbycommittee

for now, and i cant put my finger on why, i quite enjoy it though and think it can have a potentially bright future, if they channel their energy back from shinies to basics.

 

If the current story isn't that great because it's only part of the story then what is the drive to make people want to put money down to experience the next chapter that will most likely have the same stuff said about it "It's only 2/5 ths of the story......"

A proper story needs to engage at all points along the path and wrap up in a satisfying way but still leave a bit open to leave a bread crumb to the next part.

Edit: Weirdly, checking my post says it was edited at 11:01 pm last night. Nothing changed in my post as far as i can tell. I was not even awake at this time.

 

The problem with single player games is they don't last. If the player created content is implemented as described WE the players can generate endless content and build our own Ultima.

As consumers, especially those involved with Kickstarter projects, WE have a responsibility to understand development changes and not everything will meet our expectations. As a consumer if you want to ensure the product you receive is what you expect than buy it after full release. The promises made during Kickstarter are open to interpretation.

OP I understand your concern but you have a responsibility to acknowledge your guilt in the process as well. Wait it out, or move along, but the game is what it is.

 

i agree that hearing those ideas during the last telethon changed my perception greatly. custom made dungeons, how cool is that!!

yet i donot at all go along with the idea of fixing basics, beeing pushed to ep2. its like 2/3 into a movie an announcement shows up for the remaining 3rd that this epic story will be continued to be told in the next installment. thats just lack of proper comunication and causes anxiety without need for those invested in your product.

 

I think the story is really good. What's not so good is the quest system, which is scattered and flaky.

 

But what about married player content?

 

I didn't expect or want a single player story. That is really bad that you were promised that. All I thought to myself when I saw that line, was about the begining single player section of a lot of MMOs and thought, "god I don't want that."

However, I can understand why you feel burned. I feel the game is getting better every release, and while it won't be the next WOW, I do feel it will have a niche offering.

I play RPGs for the Ultima feel... have been a lot of good ones out there.

 

You mean vs single player content? *rimshot*

 

I completely agree with the OP. Is this a different kind of MMO with some old school vibes? Yes. Is this game, in any way, what was promised it would be during Kickstarter? Nope. It's not that it can't be fun from time to time - it's just not the game anyone originally backed.

To those who say "we're only 1/5 into the story": yes, that's true. If you're 1/5 into a movie or book, however, and you're feeling the story is not very engaging or immersive - would you keep on watching/reading (or, in this case, funding) the rest of the story?

Having said that, I'm still hoping for the best for SotA. I am just feeling extremely disheartened at how things started as a promised story-driven, spiritual successor to Ultima and then morphed into what it is now.

 

I have to admit I was drawn here for the multiplayer aspect, but appreciate the issues the OP has.

The crux of the multi/single player aspect was the connection of the two halves.

How to have a populated multi player world, that people didn't feel forced to grind in solo mode to "compete" vs
how to have a fun solo mode that felt vibrant and rich, yet connected.

I think the main flaw was the importance given to monetization vs actually developing the product/player base first.

They built a cart before the horse.

 

Disagree... It's very much what I backed, and getting closer every release.

 

Case and point I just got a warning about posting "inappropriate content" in a PM titled "inappropriate behavior" because of a post of mine in which I asked Serafina why she closed the offline single player thread. I wish I was just joking, but I am not.