Lets talk about why we enjoy SotA

I've played my fair share of rpgs and mmos. I'm actively playing black desert online atm, but I keep coming back to watch SotA grow and test out changes. In an odd way I feel fairly connected to the dev team from watching all the hangouts, I'd equate it to following my local Trail Blazers (NBA team). They're working extremely hard with a pretty small team and I can't help but root for them. The fact they're using the unity engine also makes it fun for me, since I've been exclusively using it for the past two years and it's interesting to watch this genre being developed on it. Many of us spend a lot of time pointing out areas of concern and mostly with good intentions, but I haven't once posted about what I really enjoy and why I would recommend this game to fans of the genre. So since we're moving closer to final wipe and we all have friends and family we'll probably want to pull into this game lets talk about what we love.

• Use based skill system
• Deck system flexibility
• Spell weaving
• Pet taming system
• Targeting system flexibility
• Free attack
• Crafted armor is the end game armor
• Actually looking for reddish brown trees, cotton and mining nodes
• No mini map
• PvP looting
• A realistic and straightforward crafting system that doesn't forcing me to craft 100 useless weapons before I can make one I'd actually use.
• A night that is dark enough I have to use a skill or item to navigate it.
• Magic reagents and arrows, it's refreshing to run out and have a reason to go back to town.
• A fizzle system that makes balancing magic and armor interesting
• Soft cc on collision with npcs
• Musical instruments playable freeform or using MML or ABC files
• Overworld map with limited fast travel, there are perks to slowing down aspects of a game.
• Post mortem hangouts after every release, I love them for a lot of reasons.
• @ the $44.99usd entry price with no monthly fee, it's cheaper than an out on the town date night.

 

~SOTA, What I Most Enjoy~
Some people enjoy games for their gaming graphics or interactive qualities of button pushing challenges and I do as well, yet SOTA holds a much different quality that will be here in a much more robust way that breaks with what I find normal in other games, which is SOTA's coming ethical challenges.

This is why I'm a Richard Garriott Fan, there's no doubt about it, "I am", because within all of his games, he has stretched my imagination in a way that other games have fallen very short from and that's their deeper mind challenging involvement in questioning our behaviors.

(shameless thread plug in example)
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/lord-britishs-open-challenge.52798/

It's these qualities that no other game can provide me with in such a deep and meaningful way that further enhance my own understanding in the ethics of life.
"That's what I most enjoy about our SOTA!"
~Time Lord~

 

I gave BDO a try for a while too. It's a very pretty game but SotA always keeps pulling me back. Maybe the screenshot below helps explain why. It shows my character in the Highlands (my PoT), in a kilt, in the rain, with his pet wolf. It's hard to describe how happy all of this makes me. It's not just that I feel happy to be a part of this world but that the devs have given us the tools to help create something of our own within their world.

 

What are those boots, @Scraps MacMutt?

 

I love the deep and complex story that is presented in a atmospheric way along with a great and immersive dialogue system. I love that all of the cities are so unique, that all of the NPCs have a meaningful life with their own stories, personality and daily schedule. I love that the game has no HUD and is so fluid to play without any windows, bars or floating texts/numbers. I love that everything can be done in the world without ripping me out of the game by having to open windows, UI elements and lists. I love how the game can be played without any grinding and how the story flows without taking me into areas that are simply too hard to master without grinding. I love the deep and complex quests, full of twists and suprises like having to actually search for the key to the Highvale gates. I love how enemies do have a purpose in the area we encounter them and are not just in the game as cannonfodder and for grinding purposes. I love the complex and deep companion system in which I can manage the gear and skills of my NPC party members. I love the active combat system that is nothing like the done-to-death tab-targeting hotbar systems. I love how alive the overland map feels with all of the roving encounters, animals, secrets and quests that await us while traveling. I love the spell system that is done like in the old Ultimas with a spellbook, spells we have to find and reagents that matter. I love how this game is like Ultima 7 just with an optional multiplayer mode...
Oh wait... Sorry, I think I mixed something up here...

 

Augmented bronze chainmail I think.

 

What do I like....

• Referring to my hand-written notes, and maps, rather than magical arrows pointing to the next quest
  
• Getting lost in a dungeon
  
• Not seeing exclamation marks (!!!) above NPC's
  
• Reading/enjoying the various story lines (rather than clicking through to the end)
• The active community and events

 

Even though I tend to be very combat focused I can relate, the deck system, free attack and targeting modes allow me the freedom to build a large variety of play styles and I have the most fun with it when I stop caring about what's the most optimal and just enjoy creating new styles of play.

 

I recently did the BDO thing as well.

Other than the awesome character customization, i felt like a ghost.
Idk maybe it was the UI, but felt like i was playing in an animus for AC.

Our housing and PoTs really make it feel like you have a presence in the world. And even with the current limited customizations I still feel more like my character than in BDO. Our equipment customization already beats it, and has alot in store to grow.

 

I enjoy S0tA because it seems to be shaping up into what I'd thought UO was supposed to have been. The Development Team has taken the lessons learned from that experience, combined them with the soul of the Ultima series, and created something better.

I also very much enjoy having my own town, providing me with the (virtual) realization of a long time fantasy, being able to be a (benevolent) feudal lord, building a space where I can contribute to the game and provide something new for those that choose to live there. This wasn't even conceived as a possibility when I originally pledged to support the project, but is the thing that has kept me interested, engaged and committed (some would say I should BE committed, and I've difficulty forming a cogent argument to the contrary) to a far greater extent than I ever would have anticipated.

 

hehehe here is something to love about this game...

I am running up to the exit gate in Solace Bridge when I see all this commotion headed towards me, and a bunch of creatures rush past off into the woods. I am still trying to look where they went when here they come running past me again... Its a Wolf with 1/4 life, chasing a Deer at 1/2 life, being chased by 2 Skeletons, absolutely ripping around nuts! hehehe So by the time I chase down and find the group, all that's left of it is a Wolf at 1/4 life standing on 2 Skeleton corpses and a dead Deer. hehehe!
Love it. Its got Richard Garriott written all over it...