How Ultima do you want the game?

Have you been to Owl's Head lately? It is looking more like a shopping mall and less like a medieval town every day. I have no doubt that the large guilds will continue their relentless march and do the same thing to all the major NPC towns in due course. I am glad that I have an island POT to live on, where such travesties are banned and the architecture conforms to a coherent theme.

 

What signs for BMC made out of cakes doesn't scream ultima too you?

 

Btw, something I was thinking about travel, was, besides all of the other reasons I think its good for gameplay, that it might somehow be connected to storytelling.

So, lets give two scenarios.

- You're told to travel from town A to town B to meet some person. When you arrive at town B, that person is murdered.
- You're told to deliver a parcel from town A to town B. On the road between town A and town B, you're attacked by bandits who want to to take that parcel from you.

Question: How would fast travel shortchange these types of scenarios ?

 

How will contraband quests, talked about at Kickstarter, work with fast travel?

 

I think there should be a chance for the game to interrupt the travel with a random encounter (Dragon Age did this) when on a quest like that. As for contraband, I would actually have it where it didn't allow you to use the "fast travel", since you're smuggling

 

The magic stops working when you're smuggling?

But yea, interrupting your travel with a random encounter is what I had in mind.. but fast travel would prevent that. Someone asks you to deliver a parcel to town B, and you just zone there, knowing a friend is there? Skipping over the random encounter...

 

Should be a flag though to make the game go "Is Player on Quest Whatever? If True = Bandits; Random"

 

Indeed I think Owl's head needs to be reworked it makes no sense to arrive in a town that looks so poor then to try and find the main castle but get lost in a forest of player castles some of which are bigger than the main.

I understand the need to fit as many town and city lots as possible but please keep it realistic and make sure that the tons of taxes collected from those rich lords and ladies be used to pave the way to the main castle, and a LOT more torches.

 

I think it needs revamping too since it is one of the first towns they created. Not all scenes are equal.

 

OMG what the heck are you talking about... This game is NO where near CLOSE even to DAOC, I have played that game for years, on all three realms lol, and it blew this game AWAY!!!!! .... the graphics, the combat, you name it .... This game is nothing like it in any way, shape or form .... If this game felt more like DAOC, I'd be addicted to it 24/7 ... and would definitely PVP ... lol bad comparison \. This game does feels more like OLD SCHOOL UO, which I don't like, I prefer it be New School, with up to date graphics etc... this is 2016 after all.... I was hoping for an updated version of the UO type game play, like the crafting system, but without the over world, look down type game play. Don't like it. I feel like a midget on a map..... I really hate the drop down view,,, well i am ranting so i'll stop.....

 

the lunar rifts do now activate based of the phases of the moon. the stones already have the phase on them and each stone activates only during that phase to go to a specific location.... the seeds are there.

this game does feel like old 2d Ultima's to me... you wander around an overhead map, (you will eventually see random monsters that pull you into encounters), when you get to a town or dungeon you enter and interact with the npc who all have stories to tell - much of which the devs have said will be implemented closer to release so as not to spoil the plot. The more you chat with the npc, the deeper the quest connections become. (one npc may reveal more about another npc you previously thought you exhausted conversation with, which opens new quest paths).

The missing parts for me (other than the full story which I don't really want to see until it is done) is the npc need to wander around more. However, it was often frustrating talking to them in older Ultimas - as they darted up and down their counter at the inn and what-not. I have already had that same experience replicated in sota when the Ardoris blacksmith used to wander off in mid-conversation. The other thing missing for me is having companions that become part of your party, and of course a turn-based combat (but i do like the card-based realtime as a hybrid)

There were so many changes between each Ultima leading up to UO, which itself was very different, yet familiar...sota recreates many of UO's risk, danger and persistance as well, so it's a nice hybrid IMO.

Strip this game of its 3d engine, and I can Imagine the conversations and actions, the towns and dungeons as 2d sprites instead - and to me it is very much in the spirit of an old ultima.

Clearly, everyone here has different expectations, so they will never please us all. I, for one, am enjoying the zen of taking my time in this game like I used to in the old Ultimas.

 

The questing still needs some serious polishing, but so far, the world still feels new and nice to explore. It's hard missing the old storylines and background from the original games, but it's a new world to learn about

 

I guess this is actually a positive aspect of some PoTs

 

Yea, though it shouldn't have been IMO. :< Meaning there should have been some thought given to preserving atmosphere/immersion in NPC cities.

 

I was looking for something along the lines of Ultima 4 with actual competent game-play. So far I'm not disappointed.

 

How "Ultima" do I want this game? As Ultima as possible. The font is honestly one of my favorite parts! I smile every time I see my avatar's name.

I am not really feeling the intro song. I really, really, really want to hear Stones in this game!!!!



This is one of the greatest video game musics ever!

 

It's to early to say if SotA is at the end an spiritual Ultima successor or not, but there are now tendencies and i understand that some getting frustrated. I was expecting an Ultima successor with old style elements like the current conversation and keyword system. I like that. All shouldn't forget that the entire team creates a world with really low budget compared to class A productions. To mention that the team delivers better and better. Look at the recent scenes which are really beautiful designed.
But the points above are also what me makes scary at the moment. I wrote it several times in the last couple of month, again and again: Cities/Hubs/Houses /Dungeons must filled with live, with objects, with interaction, with NPCs like also cats, dogs, rats, mice, do what Ultima done great, continue with hidden walls and doors and triggers and traps , make the entire world that the player like to explore the scenes, fill it with love and also fill barrels with things to pick up to make it worth to destroy barrels and crates....

 

fill it with LOVE key word there

 

Yea make the world feel alive, IT's ALIVE, IT's ALIVE.... Right now i can't stay on long enough to do anything cause I get bored to fast ..... and that's not a good thing...

 

Me I like the art, very much... the art direction is amazing, the story seems very, very structured and I've been a fan of Ultimas for so long that I can fill in the blanks and say its very promising.

But yea, as Sinclair is saying, I don't feel the "niche game" and "cater to your loyal backers" vibe out here. Not one bit, I feel like the goal is becoming like the "A+ studios" without the budget and the "elite" following.

The only person not targetted by my remark is LB himself, because I know his intention and vision was genuine in making this game, he also seems much more open minded and spiritually inclined than what I expected.

What it became however, is really not only boring, but kind of obnoxious because (and its my opinion only) people do not respect the original vision. If LB says there will be reagents for every spell, don't argue with him Portalarium ! We've seen this happen with tabula rasa... and UO...

Ultimas were never made to "please" and rather were targeted at a mature audience that didn't like hand holding and loved mysteries (the very definition of niche game). I have SO many friends who told me they couldn't even begin to play UO or Ultimas because they got discouraged so fast.

This type of game is not for everyone, yet we're trying to make it family friendly and acceptable to every type of player and in the process we're alienating the CORE loyal player base that SHOULD have moved to follow LB wherever really. The hybrid is having a very different impact... to me its almost insulting.

At the same time there is a very shady RMT market overhanging the meta-game instead of watchful seers.

History repeats itself.. I know... I try to remain hopeful.