Game not ready for release

How can you say it is beta ???

It is close to the definition of alpha but, not quite there, so, no where near code freeze which come before beta.

Here are the definition of the phases

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_development

 

Yes, this and a few other reasons are why there is the comparison. Which is correct.

No need for snarkiness or definitions.

 

Its not finished.. they need to do a lot of work because its not going to well overall. I dont think arguing alpha or beta or early access wont help.

 

Valid criticism and the OP had my attention and sympathy until the "fan boy" rant started.

 

Ha, if one doesn't have time to grab a cuppa coffee, 'tisn't a lag at all!

 

my 2 cents (oh I miss the 2 cent pieces)

If you have followed every little tidbit and pod cast and live chat ect, you would have seen Richard mention on several occasions that this is not a sequel to Ultima Online, rather a more revamped online version of what Ultima 4 and 5. I can see a lot of similarities to 4 and 5 mixed in with a new story and new design which holds a really exciting portion of my brain in anticipation, although I have had my reservations aswell, like the cut and paste of towns, the graphics not meeting todays standards, the housing and the way its implemented, the way the main 3 stories have developed and the lack of strength in the telling, the constant promises and changes to those promises not realising potential legal implecations.

All in all I have not mentioned any of the bugs or game performances because this game has not been fully released yet nor is it mentioned that it is a complete game yet and they have mentioned that they are going to be making a lot more changes and fixes which I'm still hopeful for. So my final verdict is wait for the final release then make an accurate assumption of the game

 

Sounds valid.
Now if you first post wouldn't be so ehh.... errratic i am pretty sure your opinion wouldn't attract haters ;-)

 

And this is my 2c worth.

I share the OP's frustration about the crashes (very many...) but lets send the frustration in the right direction. Chris has commented (on FB, so it's public) that the memory leak and crashing issue is a problem with Unity.

Now, what happens is:
Unity creates a game engine.
Designers buy said engine and use it to create a game.
Engine has design flaws in it which lead to memory leaks and frequent crashing.
Designers put in (repeated) bug reports to Unity.
Unity apologises profusely, but bugs not fixed yet.

Chris has at one stage raised the prospect of rolling back to a version of Unity from about 6 months ago - that was actually stable!! How much work this would involve (how many items need to be re-textured etc etc) I have no idea and don't even want to think about. I suspect neither do they. We all live in hope that Unity will get the memory issue fixed, and soon.

Us complaining about it is pretty natural, but it won't get the issue fixed any faster. Chris and the team are trying to do the best they can with what is at this moment a bugged product. They are hassling Unity, probably as much as we are hassling them. So can we chill about this issue a little, and wait for better days?

And nobody said that Shroud would be a reincarnation of Ultima, or UO. It is a game from the same team, and will have similar philosophies, styles, and ethical challenges. But there will be much that is new and different. If you approach it with an open mind I'm sure you will find very much to like, as I do.

Peace.

 

The question about why this is Ultima in reference is pretty clear...where ever you look, it is advertised as "Lord British, creator of Ultima Online" Ultima Online here, Ultima Online there...of course SotA uses Garriot for publicity and that fact makes us gamers think it might get close. The whole publicity of SotA is like saying "hey, remember Ultima Online? Yeah, guess what, Garriot makes a new game...".

Look for a Tabula Rasa reference...you wont find any...cause that wouldnt make anyone spend a dime on SotA.

So...dont point any finger on players making Ultima Online references, its wanted as it seems.

And for the fact that it is not ready...I agree...and looking at the engine, the graphics and the WHOLE work that went into it yet...SotA will meet 2005 standards at most. Yes, we have 2016 and games out there, the new and fresh titels, can show what is possible with a decent rig. SotA is far away from that...but as it seems, it never aimed to be put in that family. This is more "uncle Bobs farm" where life is a bit older, where time passes a tick slower. Driving an old John Deer can be fun, you dont have to roll the porche every day. Yet...you dont tell your friends that you drive the old John Deer, so no, I wont tell my friends to put a cent into this.

Thats not ment in a bad way...there will be a time when SotA will be fun, depending on what you understand under fun, you can already get pretty happy in SotA today. But for me...I can find better stuff to do looking at the weather then camping Xavara all day long.

 

~To Such Rhetoric That Bases Opinion to Our Current Day SOTA~
SOTA has come a very long way in a short time, and what is refer to within such opinion (in my way of looking at it), is that most games that EA and others have created, come out as a finished product, with any changes coming when it's then reproduced, "as another finished game for public release".

~For Perspective Example, SOTA 2013 By Darkblade~

Was it playable? Yes... Was it finished? Nope... Was it your Grandfather's Game? Yep... Was it comparable to any modern day EA Game? Yes, as a very low mark which would have very bad reviews by comparison.
"Yet that was SOTA 2013 and it's still not finished, and still not comparable to many finished games, yet is in much better development"...

~Our SOTA Growing Gaming World~
Games in development cannot be justly compared to anything that advertises it's finished and were funded by any large gaming company.
Things that come out from any gaming company's thumb as finished are dead after playing them and must be repurchased.
"SOTA is a living growing game, and to compare it to an adult, is far from any reasonable current expectation".

"Building Our SOTA is an Adventure We All Have Chosen to Take On Together"
It's our content that builds our character...
~Time Lord~

 

As I had not pledged at that time perhaps somebody who pledged then could answer, about this video, was it playable content or some type of commercial advertise ?

Am I the only one who finds the fog of war OW map (with carts and animations) and the Lunar Rift in this video (with an insight of the destination) far better from what we have NOW ?

Having the feeling that the game has not improved or even has been backward in some aspects is frustrating.

"Complaining" about the way the game is developping is not praying for doom and havoc, it's underlining what one's player hope to see in game, as a crowdfunder player.

 

It is alot less the 7 months. release comes the end of July.

 

Seriously ? Check the news letter, replay the hangout, read the posts, here, I will put it again in this post for you :

Please understand that final wipe is not “launch”. We will continue to be working to finish the game’s story content well past final wipe, while we remain in Early Access. Until then, the game is neither “launched” nor complete, but as mentioned below, the concept of “launch” may not even be applicable to this development model. Launch will be when we pull the game out of Early Access and we start marketing / public relation campaigns to pull in new customers.

They said many time that they are targeting December 2016 for release !!!

July 28th means final wipe.
Final wipe means last time we will have to redo it all.

It just mean that we will have a jump start over general public to build our characters, build our shops, place our homes etc...

It will still be in early access. Not released. I would not even be surprised if, after pledge expiration that they "lock" everyone from buying new accounts until release.

 

FTFY

 

Wrong... and said many times.. release is not final wipe. Please get that straight.. I don't care if anyone thinks otherwise.. you'd be wrong.

 

TL;DR: unreleased game is not ready for release.

Here lies the Seigneur de La Palice: If he weren't dead, he would still be alive

 

100% agreed.

For all the many people who still do not know.. December is a date you can rally behind for your agenda. But always keep in mind, this is subject to change AT ANY TIME! Try to grasp that. My prediction, is release in the middle of next year.. which is fine in my opinion.. imagine the forums!

 

I agree and we all know it's not the release date in July, but outside of this forum, on other forums, people are seeing it as a soft launch.

(This part below is not to you @Fister Magee

When people come in July some will have some negative issues with Sota and we should be ready for that. Good and bad opinions from new people are coming in July and beyond. What I'd like to see is more people here being nicer to people, whether they have good or bad opinions of Sota. I've seen it on other forums where people think some of our community is elitest and some have mentioned we jump all over people that don't think the game is good. I think we have a good community, and I really hope that will show more and prove these people wrong as more people start to arrive to this game. I understand it's hard to hear people smack down the game we've been involved with for years now, but some of them do have valid points and should be heard just as much as us. The legitimate problems being heard from them can only help to make Sota better. We've all been playing this game for years, newcomers will be looking at it with fresh eyes and maybe they will see problems we haven't noticed or just learned to deal with. Let's all try to be a bit more nice and welcoming, even when we don't like what someone is saying, and not be so dismissive with the newcomers as they start to join us.

 

Nitpicking about words wont help either. Persistance will be seen as release... all PR talk in the world wont change that.

However Sota reviews are very bad atm, so better to get the bunch of people that are still here to finally play now. Persistance will give them a couple of months to be entertained and the devs time to change the stuff that is needed.. if they fail to do that, the playerbase will shrink further and reviews go down the drain.

If we are lucky they and we as community can make the game into what was initially promised... if not a lot of us learned that kickstarter money is a gamble you can lose ^^

 

p

Are your seriously telling me that you cant compare a big company game to a kickstarter founded game that are in development?

Both products want my cash and my time in exchange for fun. Now, as you can read in this thread, fun is something perceived very differently. One is happy with what he has, the other is missing fun when his mouse doesnt respond as wanted. Under the line, everyone has to chose for himself what fun is and what he wants from his precious time in front of the pc. I cant say I had a saying on the release date after final wipe. But I can very well say that other games give me more of everything at present compared to SotA.

And thats noting bad...it only becomes bad if a lot of people start thinking as I do. And that again is something I cant change in any way, since its dependent of what people get when it gets out. SotA has your/our money already, at least 5$ of it so we can write here, but you have to understand that people compare games on every day basis.

Further...you just have to open Steam (I know...bugger) to see a fload of pre-release...in development...beta access...those terms are worn out. They ask a full game prices (the most do) and will be judged by exactly that. No exeptions.

Dont make the customer feel bad because he tells his oppinion - never.

All that is imho!

I totaly agree...I hope I stay in a good tone when telling my oppinion.

Most people (and please...most people, not you or anyone in particular) havent learned to take criticisme. Some allready feel stepped uppon when you dont shout "halleluhja" like they do and ask you to take your negative oppinions elsewhere. What often results in negative arguments being tossed back and forth.

Just...start an Elite Dangerous topic in StarCitizen Forum. Stay friendly, open and say nothing negative. I give you 5 minutes before you turn off your PC and run for the shower. Promise